


an odyssey

by softtofustew



Category: Stray Kids (Band)
Genre: Action, Alternate Universe - Space, Alternate Universe - Star Wars Setting, Enemies to Lovers, Lots of Tension to Unpack!!!!!! WOW!!!!!, M/M, Mentions of alcohol, writing this just made me realise how empty the seungbinho tag is so SOMEONE PLS CURE THE DROUGHT
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-11-20
Updated: 2020-12-09
Packaged: 2021-03-09 22:35:48
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 6
Words: 55,956
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/27643552
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/softtofustew/pseuds/softtofustew
Summary: Somewhere in the galaxy of the Stella Primum, Lieutenant Han is the best fighter on his team, a real ace shooter, with five gold stars to show. Too bad Second Lieutenant Hwang is not only great at battling the Ordinem, he’s also got disgustingly perfect looks to match, and now Jisung’s stuck in the same spaceship with him for possibly the most impossible task of their lives. Or the one where a rivalry is brewed across the skies and stars, until Jisung realises what there is to flying beside Hyunjin on a mission to save the galaxy.
Relationships: Bang Chan/Lee Felix, Han Jisung | Han/Hwang Hyunjin, Kim Seungmin/Lee Minho | Lee Know/Seo Changbin, Side Relationships
Comments: 94
Kudos: 193





	1. chapter one

**Author's Note:**

> me: posts the first chapter  
> also me: prays i can actually follow my outline this time and finish this in five chapters
> 
> this is probably going to be my biggest work ever in terms of the plot. i've got everything down, now i just need to WRITE /cries/ also not at me butchering the star wars universe lmfao
> 
> listen to [this playlist](https://open.spotify.com/playlist/0hRvbG9YDfXiSRs9JNaFGo?si=xKSekFKDRwWMDK9nw7e6GQ) as u read for atmosphere! let me know what u think of this aites, i crave validation that fuels my will to continue to write ᕕ( ᐛ )ᕗ

_“Lieutenant, we’ve got an S-shooter at five o’clock-”_

“-Yes, Capt, I’ve got my eyes on it.”

There’s a crackle of feed over his earpiece as Jisung jerks his controller, making a sharp right whilst barely missing another shot from behind him. Sparks of gunshots flicker past Jisung’s peripheral vision in arrows, shooting across the skies. Beyond the capsule of his trusted Falco 234-B, the sound of an explosion is veiled by the vacuum of space itself. 

Jisung snarls as he aims right at the S-shooter, at its masked driver dressed all in black. Aim, and _fire_ \- the shot lands bullseye in the windshield of the ship itself. The driver is knocked back by the impact, and the shooter explodes into flames.

 _Gotcha_. Jisung grins to himself. Call him crazy, but the adrenaline that surges through his veins in every fight sends his heart beating wildly, and in a _good_ way, even. He’s the ace fighter of the team, named the ‘golden shooter’ by the Governor himself. He loves the fight, loves the gruelling force it takes to manoeuvre his fighter plane through whizzing gunshots and asteroids, loves the taste of victory on the tip of his tongue after every win.

There’s another crackle exploding in his ears. “Han, get your ass over right now! They’ve got Capt surrounded; there’s no way he’s gonna get outta there.”

Jisung swivels the Falco around. His eyes land on the prominent white-and-gold ship peeking out of the sea of black S-shooters. The corner of his lips curls into a growl. “On it, General. Round the rest up; send the shooters ablaze. Create a distraction, something that’ll deter them away from Capt.”

Felix’s deep voice rumbles especially loudly through his ears. “On it, Han.”

In a split second, Jisung’s sending his Falco dead straight ahead towards the direction of the black ocean. He swiftly blows off three of the oblivious shooter planes, instigating an instant domino effect that sends bits of metal flying everywhere. With the help of the other fighters, Jisung and his team easily break through the tyranny of Ordinem, or the Order’s shooters. Several whoops of joy rise over the system, and Jisung beams with pride. This batch of fighters is by far his favourite to co-command. There’s Felix, who never misses a target, and Jeongin, the youngest, but always quick on his feet. 

“Capt, do you copy? Conditions? Over.”

Changbin’s gruff voice is even more gravelly when he answers. “Positive, though one of those assholes nicked my arm.”

“ _Dude_.” Jisung drops the formalities as he scans the skies for Changbin's fighter plane. Indeed, the side of the ship has been scraped, the fresh painting now giving way to rusting steel. Changbin fires at another shooter, all the while clutching his bleeding arm.

Jisung bites down on his lower lip. “Okay. Get away from the shooters; defend yourself, Capt. The rest of us will take it from here. There’s only about two dozen more.”

A string of “roger!”s cut through his earpiece. Jisung catches Changbin flashing him a grin before he begins to back away from the oncoming fleet of shooters. Jisung directs the rest of his troop through the maze of S-shooters. He shoots at as many as he can at rapid fire speed. The Falco jerks from the impact of every shot; the old junkie’s great, smooth, but old all the same. Still, Jisung ignores how the ship continues to jolt as he aims at the captain of the other troop.

He squeezes one eye shut and aims carefully. His tongue comes out to lick at his lower lip, just for dramatic effect, really. Jisung grins slowly as his thumb hovers over the trigger. “I gotcha where I want ya, you imbeci-”

But before Jisung can finish his sentence, the Ordinem troop leader’s ship bursts into a firework display of metal scraps. As if they had gotten electrocuted, the rest of the Ordinem troop whiz away, taking shelter without the protection of their captain. Shocked, Jisung’s eyes search amongst the rubble for the offender. The cheers over his earpiece are tuned out when Jisung finally catches sight of the ship, the white and gold and blinding red number 2 on the side unmistakable. Anger blinds his vision as he stares right into the eyes of the second lieutenant, sat smugly in the driver’s seat.

There’s a burst of crackle again. “Han? Second Lieutenant Hwang would like to connect to our system?”

Jisung glances down at the screen. Indeed, the message box icon blinks rapidly, irritatingly. Jisung smothers a huff as he taps on it. In an instance, he reads the message. _Second Lieutenant Hwang Hyunjin of Battalion 211 would like to join the server._

Jisung sighs before punching _Accept._ Several moments later, a familiar voice comes over his earpiece.

“Nice to see you again, Han. I’m glad my battalion was on our way back from the other side and caught y’all. Was happy to help.”

Jisung bites back a “Your help was _not_ needed” and instead clears his throat. “Great to see you again, Hwang. I’ll see you back at the Motherboard.”

“Alright. See ya-”

Jisung yanks his earpiece out and shoves it into the overhead compartment. He tears his eyes away from the other lieutenant’s ship and instead steers his troop back to the Motherboard. In his head, he continues on with his long list of _Reasons To Hate Hwang Hyunjin._

✴

Reasons To Hate Hwang Hyunjin

43) He got promoted to Second Lieutenant after only _five months_ in service, i.e. What The Fuck.

44) Because of 43), he is, by far, the most arrogant man Jisung has ever had the disgusting pleasure of knowing.

45) He is too pretty to be true.

46) He should just mind his own fucking business.

✴

“Dude.” Felix points at the bouquet of carnations in Jisung’s hands as he approaches the red-haired boy. The hallway reeks of medications and metal, as most hospitals do. Jisung scrunches his nose up at the smell. “You _do_ know he didn’t die, right?”

Jisung rolls his eyes. “Of course I know that, Lix. Can’t a man bring flowers to his injured friend? Besides, you know this is his first time getting injured in a fight in, what, decades?”

The both of them snigger, until they hear a loud shrill from inside. “I can hear you guys, you know! I’m only _thirty-three_ , not a hundred!” Jisung and Felix exchange mischievous looks before the latter reaches out for the hospital door. He slides it open quietly. 

Sat on the hospital bed, Changbin has his arms crossed over his chest defiantly. He glares at the two boys as they continue to cover up their giggles. “What, is this National Make-Fun-Of-Your-Captain Day? Save me from the jokes; Jeongin’s already poked fun at me ‘cause I didn’t have my contacts in.”

“We could declare that day right now,” Jisung says cheekily. He hands their captain the carnations with a small smile. “I know you love ‘em.”

Changbin shakes his head. “I can’t get mad at you, can I?” he mutters. He takes a soft whiff of the flowers, before setting them carefully in the empty bedside vase. As he shifts on the bed, he glances at the two boys. “Oh, don’t look at me like that. You make me feel like I actually _did_ die. It’s just a gunshot at the arm-”

“-did you hear that, Lix? _Just_ a gunshot-”

“-the bullet didn’t even get lodged in my arm!” Changbin laughs. “The guy had pretty bad aim, honestly.”

Jisung rolls his eyes. “Seriously, though, you alright Capt?”

“Sure am,” Changbin nods. “Now, shoo, I want my time alone.”

Jisung flashes Felix a knowing look. “Say, Felix, what’s the time now?”

“Oh, let’s take a look, then,” Felix replies nonchalantly. He glimpses up at the wall clock and fakes a dramatic gasp. “Oh, wow, it’s six o’clock! The doc will come in to check on our captain’s boo boo now.”

“Maybe the doctor should check our captain’s heartbeat, too,” Jisung snickers.

Changbin stares daggers up at the two boys. “When I’m out of this hospital bed, I swear to our Governor that I will castrate the both of you and-”

“-My, my, that sounds crude.” At the sound of the new person, Jisung tries hard not to laugh out loud. Changbin’s eyes widen as the doctor peeks his head into the room with a gentle smile. His dark hair is styled to fall past his forehead. His eyes are accentuated by his dark eyeshadow, and his silver earrings glint under the hospital room lights. “And right after your injury too, Captain?”

“You know I was joking,” Changbin winces. 

The other two step aside for Minho to walk around the hospital bed. Minho sets the metal tray down and removes his gloves. “Really, hm? Didn’t take you for the joking type, Seo.” 

“You just don’t know me that well, Doc.”

Minho raises a perfectly arched eyebrow. “You’d be surprised.”

Jisung watches on at the conversation between the both of them. He knows better than to interrupt, but the thought is so tempting - Changbin’s face looks like it’s been lit aflame. His eyes are fixated on the doctor, and the doctor _only_. It’s ridiculous, given the number of times a week Changbin stops by the hospital to ‘check on the others’, when really all he wants to do is to ogle at Minho.

Minho simply smiles as he pulls the sheets back. “Let’s take a look at that arm for you, hm?”

The two boys take it as their moment to slip out of the hospital room and let them be. As soon as they close the door, they both erupt into a burst of giggles, like a pair of schoolboys who’d just pulled a prank. 

Felix wipes a tear from his eye. “Did you see his face? He looked like he’d just ascended to heaven.”

“Or hell,” Jisung laughs. “You should definitely have lunch with Capt one day. All he talks about is how pretty Minho’s eyes are, or how gentle his hands are, or how big his thighs are-”

“-I’ve heard enough!” Felix yelps, and the two of them continue laughing. It’s not until they’ve rounded the bend that Jisung’s laughter ebbs away. The upward curve of his lips turns down into a grim frown. Standing before him would be none other than-

“-Hyunjin! So cool to bump into you here,” Felix chirps. Before Jisung can block him, Felix pounces into Hyunjin with their signature handshake. Hyunjin laughs as they bump fists. His eyes curl upwards joyfully. His hair is artfully messy enough to make his uniformed outfit look business casual, and Jisung seethes at this.

“Hey, Lix,” Hyunjin replies. His eyes flicker over to Jisung’s. When they lock eyes, a slow smile forms on Hyunjin’s lips. “And we meet again, Han.”

“Indeed,” Jisung quips. He crosses his arms over his chest, attempting to assert dominance over someone a good ten centimetres taller than him. Keyword: attempting. “You doing rounds this evening here or what? I thought Captain Kim was on duty tonight.”

“Don’t need to get all defensive with me, Ji; this ain’t a battlefield,” Hyunjin chuckles, but there’s an underlying icy tone to his words. “And I have no interest in hospitals, nor do I have any interest in talking to you.” _Well, ouch. Not like I want to talk to you, either._ “But Colonel Bang does.”

Jisung furrows his eyebrows. “He interested in the hospital or me?”

Hyunjin rolls his eyes. Even as he does so, Jisung can’t help but admit that Hyunjin is pretty - all sharp features that soften when he rolls his eyes or sticks his tongue out or so much so as smiles. He brushes the thought away when Hyunjin says, “In you, dumbass. Now, get a move on. He wants to talk to us. And you know he doesn’t like waiting.”

✴

“You know I don’t like waiting.” 

“Sorry, Colonel,” Hyunjin says curtly. Chan’s office is relatively nicer and homier than most others’. Bookshelves line the entire length of one wall, holding volume after volume of journals and novels. On the other wall, his certificates and medals of honour are hung neatly in pristine condition. The only area in a state of disarray would be his desk - papers are strewn across the mahogany wood table, peppered with paper clips and notepads and pens. His laptop lays precariously near the edge of his desk. 

Chan presses a palm to his forehead. Since he’s higher up the ranks, Jisung doesn’t see him very often. On the days that he does, however, he always looks either tired out or infectiously happy; there’s no middle ground in his wide spectrum. With his shirt unbuttoned, his sleeves rolled up carelessly, coupled with his deep-set eye bags, he looks like he hasn’t slept in a week.

“Take a seat, the both of you,” Chan says. As they do, Chan sifts through the tattered papers and continues talking. “Now, you’re probably wondering why I’ve requested for the both of you to come see me.”

Jisung stays silent. He’s only ever sat with Chan, face-to-face in his office, twice before. Once, for his interview. Twice, now. With the weight of his words hanging in the air, Jisung feels a little tense under Chan’s watchful gaze. 

Eventually, Chan produces a plain file and slides it across the desk towards them. “I’ve got a task for the both of you, but before you open this, you’ll swear that you won’t breathe a word to anyone else about this outside of these four walls.”

The two lieutenants exchange puzzled looks. Jisung blinks, before flicking his gaze back to the colonel. Chan sighs. “You’ll understand when the both of you read this through.”

Hesitantly, Jisung flips the file open. Clipped to the file are several documents, and a photograph on the very top of the pile. Jisung unclips the photo to inspect it further. In the centre of the darkness sits a glowing yellow, multifaceted gem. Jisung stares at it in awe. The gem seems to glow an alluring gold, casting a mysterious shadow in the picture. 

Hyunjin peeks over Jisung’s shoulder. His breath hitches audibly in his throat. “That’s… that’s a Gemma.”

Jisung looks up from the photo. “A Gemma?”

Despite the tension in the air, Hyunjin clicks his tongue in annoyance. “Dude, do you _not_ know what a Gemma is?”

Jisung huffs. “I know what a Gemma is, you dumb fu-”

“-gentlemen,” Chan interrupts. It’s not fierce, but a heavy seriousness is laced in his voice. “If you could read on, please.”

Hyunjin plucks the file up and reads directly from the document. “ _Operation Novissimis: Finding The Last Gemma._ ” His eyebrows knit together as he reads on in silence. Once he’s done, he peers up. “I… I don’t understand.”

“Let me see that.” Jisung snatches the file from Hyunjin’s fingers and reads aloud, “ _Dear Governor, I have tasked two of our most trusted men in the search for the last Gemma, for we fear that the Ordinem will get their hands on them before we can intervene. They have been given an indefinite amount of time off of their duties, in order to ensure The Prophecy will not be met._ ” 

Jisung sets the file down with a shaky hand. It’s as if he’s suddenly choked of oxygen, his lungs squeezing with every breath he takes. “Colonel, I-”

“-I understand that it seems too sudden,” Chan says. “But the frequent attacks on our Motherboard are increasing. They so desperately want their hands on the Gemmas, in order to fulfill The Prophecy. On top of that, they don’t know where the last Gemma is, and neither do we. They’ve got three, we’ve got one - if we could obtain that last Gemma, it’ll help us gain an upper hand.”

Hyunjin drums his fingers nervously against the desk. “But Colonel, what I don’t understand is this: why _us_? None of our intellects have cracked the code, either, so what makes anyone think that the two of us can solve it?”

Chan smiles. It’s a gentle, soft smile, and yet so, so sad. “We’ve sent our generals and our captains, all out on a spree to find the last Gemma. None of them have come back fruitful. Time is of the essence, lieutenants. It’s only long before the Ordinem breaks into the Motherboard to steal the Gemma from right under our noses, and find the last Gemma. The Universe may be expanding, but there’s only so much to explore.

“And, furthermore, the two of you are the most prominent men on our team now. The both of you are our ace fighters, brilliant assets to the troops. It’d be great if we could have the both of you at the very forefront of this mission.”

Jisung chews on his lower lip. Never in his four years of serving the troops had he expected himself to land here: in the colonel’s office, tasked to find a gem hidden somewhere in some crevice of the Universe, with the person he hates the most. It all seems too abrupt, a sort of spontaneous decision to have been given little chance to mull over and consider. 

Chan notes the expression on Jisung’s face. “I understand how abrupt this all is. And I also would like to… apologise for, uh, pairing the both of you up.”

Jisung blinks. He swears his heart stops beating for a second. “And why so, Colonel?” Jisung splutters. 

Chan raises an eyebrow. “I hear about the clashes between the both of you quite often, you know, down the grapevine. There was once a threat of open fire on each other, wasn’t it?”

The two lieutenants flush red in embarrassment. Jisung licks his lips and tries to defend himself. “We… we were practising down in the archery room! And he purposely missed and almost cut off my ear; we fought on a _justifiable_ issue-”

“-I’ll have to stop you there, Han; I’m not some school principal dealing with two petty teenagers,” Chan cuts him off. “If you’d like to settle it like adults, here’s a piece of advice for you: you either talk, or fuck. That’s it. Don’t come whining to me about what goes down in the archery room.”

Jisung blushes maddeningly redder. He notices the pinker shade of Hyunjin’s ears, too. He parts his lips to say something, but slowly clamps his mouth shut. 

Chan grins. “I’m kidding. I was trying to lighten the mood. Anyhow,” he hands both of them the file, along with a yellowed journal, the spine practically falling apart, “I’ll leave these with the both of you. Within 24 hours, I’d like to hear a report on your findings and when you’ll be departing for this operation, preferably in 48 hours’ time.”

Reluctantly, the two lieutenants scrape their chairs back and mutter “thank you”, before scurrying out of the room. As soon as Jisung slides the door close, he hears Hyunjin say, “Don’t get me wrong - it’s a brilliant mission, but with the wrong person.”

Jisung swivels around and glares at Hyunjin. “Agreed,” he huffs. “Why do I have to end up with _you_?”

“I should be asking that myself,” Hyunjin sniffs. His lower lip is pulled in between his teeth, hissing quietly. “Whatever. I’ll just make do with you.”

“Make do with me?” Jisung scoffs. “Wow, for someone who’s only been around for less than a year, you’ve sure got balls to talk to your senior like that.”

“To my senior who couldn’t even shoot down the enemy ship? Likely,” Hyunjin huffs. Before Jisung can retort by pointing out that he _was_ about to fire at the offender, Hyunjin waves a hand dismissively in the air. “Okay, whatever. Enough chit chat with you. Meet me at the library at 2000 hours, and sharp. I don’t tolerate tardiness.”

Jisung rolls his eyes. “Of course you don’t,” he mutters. He shoves all the file and the journal into Hyunjin’s arms, turns on his heel and strides off indignantly, leaving Hyunjin alone outside the colonel’s office door.

✴

Maybe if they’d met under better circumstances, Jisung would actually be _nice_ to Hyunjin. But fate works in mysterious ways, and their first meeting, Governor forbid, had to be down at the shooting range of all places.

“Lieutenant Han! We’ve got a new intake,” Captain Seo announced. Jisung lowered the gun and turned to look at the door. Standing beside his captain (and towering over him, too) was a tall, dark-haired boy, who couldn’t possibly be a day past twenty, by the looks of it. He had gentle eyes, a gentle smile, teeming with a clean-cut jaw and nice body proportions. 

From the second he’d laid eyes on him, Jisung already knew he hated his guts. _Who can possibly own a nose_ that _pretty?_

The boy waved. He actually fucking _waved_. “Hi. I’m, uh, Hwang Hyunjin.”

Changbin patted his back. “He’s from the other battalion, but Captain Kim’s come down with a cold, so I’m showing him around,” he said. There’s a slight edge to his words, so slight that Jisung barely caught it, but he knows Changbin doesn’t very much favour Seungmin’s ass. “Thought we would bump into you down here.”

Jisung gave Hyunjin a once-over. “Letting the newcomer come to the shooting range? You wanna scare his balls off or what?” Jisung chuckled.

And then he’d seen it. That sudden shift in those eyes - light and docile, to something dark and steely. Without warning, Hyunjin began striding up to him. He stopped in front of Jisung, shadowing him in his wake. “I could try it out,” he said casually.

Jisung cocked his head to the side. “Really? I’d _like_ to see you try.”

Hyunjin narrowed his eyes. “Best of three.”

Jisung whistled lowly, then turned to look at his captain. “Hey, Capt, you hear that? The newbie wants to take up a challenge.”

There’s a glint in Changbin’s eyes when he glanced back at Jisung. “You’d be surprised, Han.”

Jisung smirked, and handed Hyunjin one of the spare guns. “Let’s see what you got, then.”

Hyunjin snatched up the gun and loaded it. There was a sense of airy confidence when he held it before him, as if he’d been holding a gun his whole life. There was a click as the safety lock was disabled, and then Hyunjin peered at Jisung. “Alright, then, Lieutenant.”

His tone was dripping with mockery. Jisung seethed and tore his gaze away from Hyunjin, instead landing on the target he’d been practising on earlier. With a click, Changbin reset the targets to reveal a fresh new shooting target. “Show me what y’all got.”

Jisung carefully aimed, and pulled the trigger. The backward impact threw him off slightly, as it always had due to his smaller frame. The bullet whizzed through the air and landed him a solid 8 points. 

He’d felt his lips begin to form a smirk when a _bang!_ went off. Jisung’s eyes snapped to Hyunjin, who hadn’t budged an inch when he fired. In a blink of an eye, the bullet lodged itself dead centre in the yellow ring, scoring him a full 10 points.

Jisung stood there, shocked, as Hyunjin coolly dusted his hands off of his jeans. “Man, I’m getting a little rusty,” he simpered. 

Jisung fought the urge to punch the guy’s face. He hissed through his teeth indignantly. “Perfect time to improve now, huh?” he retorted. He aimed again, desperate to ignore how Hyunjin’s eyes bore into him, and fired. As clumsy as he was, he scored himself 10 points.

“Not bad, Lieutenant,” Hyunjin countered, a mere few seconds before he himself scored another perfect 10.

In the last round, Jisung managed to land himself another 10, but so did Hyunjin. As Hyunjin set down his gun, he grinned at Jisung. “Never underestimate your newbies, Lieutenant,” he said, before winking and saluting at Jisung. Jisung stood there, beyond disbelief as Hyunjin turned on his heel and skipped out of the room, leaving him hissing and sputtering like a cranky old boiler. 

He might have gotten over it if Hyunjin hadn’t rubbed that into his face _every fucking time_ they met. Seoullis and stars, Hyunjin grabbed every opportunity to prove how much more worthy he was than Jisung, how much smarter, how much quicker. He had everyone wrapped around his little finger, and within five months of service, even Colonel Bang had promoted him to Second Lieutenant. Everyone called it a miracle; Jisung called it a disaster.

Still, the Universe works in mysterious ways, and Jisung was just about to find out himself.

✴

Just to piss Hyunjin off, Jisung decides to arrive at the library two minutes late. 

He feels a kind of glee running in his veins as he shoves the door open to the mostly vacant library. A musty scent of yellowed pages and freshly brewed coffee wafts in the air and fills his nostrils. The librarian at the desk, Nayeon, shoots Jisung a smile when he walks in. Not to be a bragger, but almost everyone on the planet of Seoullis knows who he is. His face is plastered on billboards and posters across the bustling streets and skylines. Hell, he’s slapped across the cover of Men 2028 as the forefront of the Motherboard’s future. 

Okay, maybe he’s bragging a _little_.

He spots Hyunjin in an instance, where he’s curled up with his nose stuck in an encyclopedia. Jisung strides up to him and pulls out the chair opposite Hyunjin. It scrapes with an ear-piercing screech against the linoleum floor, and Hyunjin winces.

“You’re late,” he says as soon as Jisung plops down onto his seat.

Jisung shrugs. “Whatever. Two minutes won’t change anything, would it?”

“When you’re facing the Ordinem in the skies, it would,” Hyunjin retorts. He slides the stack of books by his side across the table. “Now, read up.”

Jisung’s jaw slackens. “You’re asking me to read all five of these books thicker than our asses combined?”

Hyunjin gives him a look. “There must be some clue as to where the last Gemma is, and where the Prophecy lays. I hope you enjoy reading.”

Jisung snorts. “No, no way.” He shoves the towering pile of books away. “I am not gonna find some needle in a haystack.”

The other lieutenant narrows his eyes at Jisung. “Then what are you going to do?”

“I’m gonna talk to you, face to face,” Jisung replies. “It’s easier to just think of what we know now, rather than spend hours cooped up in here reading page after page.”

Hyunjin sighs noisily, but much to Jisung’s surprise, he complies. Setting the book in his hands down, he looks pointedly at Jisung. “So.”

“So,” Jisung clears his throat. “We both know that there are five Gemmas needed for the Prophecy. The Ordinem has three. We have one locked up here in the Motherboard. No one knows where the last Gemma is, and our only clue is in the _Tales of the Prophecy_ poem. So we pull up that poem.”

Hyunjin shrugs. “Worth a shot.” He taps his wristband, the same one Jisung has on, and says, “Pull up the _Tales of the Prophecy_ poem.”

“Wait, why’d you hassle all these books out if you could just search it up on your wristband?” Jisung asks.

Hyunjin chuckles. “The librarian looked bored.” Before Jisung can get his word in (“That’s so fucking lame, dude”), a hologram of the poem has flickered over his wristband. “Come on over here and read it with me.”

“This isn’t elementary school-”

“-Read. It. With. Me,” Hyunjin huffs. Jisung rolls his eyes, but clambers over the desk and plops down into the seat beside Hyunjin. From where he’s sat, he can sniff out the light cologne on the second lieutenant, warm and musky, teemed with his heavy conditioner scent. It fills Jisung’s nostrils, and he practically sneezes out half his soul. 

“Seoullis and stars, warn a dude next time,” Hyunjin winces. He holds out his wristband for Jisung to read, the letters hanging in the air.

_One with the heart of gold,_

_One with the land stone cold,_

_One with the rich and bold,_

_One with the poor soul sold,_

_One with the curse once told,_

_All with the king foretold._

“Can you believe that people all across the galaxies have been racking their brains over this shit for the past, what, three hundred years?” Jisung snorts, enlarging the text. “The one with the heart of gold was the Gold Gemma, from the planet Aurum. Land stone cold’s the blue one, from the planet Crystallos. Rich and bold’s from the red-tailed serpent residing in Hydrus, and the poor soul sold is the one _we_ have, from that cranky old merchant seven decades back.”

When he’s finished, he glances up to look at the surprised expression on Hyunjin’s face. “I didn’t know you’d know that,” Hyunjin mutters.

Jisung scoffs. “A lieutenant shouldn’t fight for something they don’t even know,” he shoots back.

Hyunjin stares at him for a moment, before returning his gaze to the hologram of words. “Think about it,” he whispers. “The rulers of five of the largest galaxies gathered and created the five Gemma, hid them, and planned for their successors to somehow find them and, what then? Create chaos?”

“We don’t even know what exactly the Gemmas _do_ ,” Jisung huffs. “All we know is that the Ordinem can’t get their hands on them.”

“Plus,” Hyunjin adds, “the rest of the Gemmas’ clues were so easy. I don’t get why no one has managed to crack the code for the last one’s whereabouts. ‘One with the curse once told’? Where could it possibly even _be_?”

Jisung frowns. “No one knows,” he replies. A beat passes, and then a lightbulb goes off in his head. “Where’s the journal that the Colonel gave us earlier?”

The other digs around in his rucksack for the yellowed journal. As he does, a stray strand of blonde hair falls past his eyes. Jisung gazes at the man’s hair, pulled low into a loose bun. His line of sight falls to the furrowed eyebrows, the steel cold eyes, down to the slope of his (unfairly perfect) nose, and pauses at his lips. 

Jisung groans internally as he tears his gaze away from Hyunjin’s face. I _n the name of the Governor, what the hell?_

Oblivious to his blatant staring, Hyunjin retrieves the journal and drops it onto the table. “I skimmed through it earlier,” he hums. “It’s a compilation of journal entries from different generals, colonels and lieutenants who’ve tried searching for the last Gemma in the past. None of them caught onto anything, though.”

“It’s like finding a needle in a haystack,” Jisung muses. He swipes the journal and begins to thumb through it. The pages are fragile under his touch, as if they would dissolve into dust any second. “Except the needle is some random glowing gem, and the haystack is our ever-expanding Universe.”

Whilst he flicks through the journal, Hyunjin begins typing something into his holographic search box. “What if we tried looking for someone else who’s researched into the last Gemma?” he questions. “Someone who has in-depth knowledge of its whereabouts, who’s chased it their entire lives.”

Jisung peers over the other’s shoulder to blink at the search results that pop up. “Twenty links,” he huffs. “Good luck finding one that _actually_ has a lead.”

At this, Hyunjin’s eyes snap up and lock with Jisung’s gaze. “I bet I could find a lead quicker than you do.”

Oh, so _this_ is how he’s playing it? Anger licks at the depths of Jisung’s gut, but he simply _cannot_ let his pride get bruised by some wannabe ace fighter. He quirks the corner of his lips into a smirk and shoots back, “We’ll see about that.”

“I’m already ahead of you,” Hyunjin retorts. “I’ve combed through that journal already. What makes you think you’ll win?”

“You’ll be surprised by how fast I read.” Technically, that’s _half_ of the truth — Hyunjin would most _definitely_ be surprised, because Jisung’s definition of fast was anything _but_ fast. He never passed his Korean classes back in high school, mainly because the comprehension section could suck his dick. Then again, when he’d enrolled in the army, there hadn’t been a need for a straight-A record in reading skills. What good is reading words fast when you’re scanning the skies for your opponents?

He’d never known there would come a day when he’d curse his younger self for reading so slow… until now.

Hyunjin grins. It’s laced with tight venom, an obvious sign of a storm brewing. “It’s on, then.”

Jisung huffs, turns his attention to the journal, and flicks to the very first page.

For once, silence falls in a blanket over the both of them, save for the sharp sound of the flipping of the pages, and the occasional grunt from Hyunjin. Out of the corner of his vision, Jisung notices a few trainees passing by and shooting the two of them weird looks, but he hurriedly brushes them out of his thoughts.

The words begin to swim over his vision. The situation worsens, though, when he flips to a certain general’s journal entries written in an entirely different language. Frowning, Jisung blinks at the tattered page a few times, as if the language would be translated instantly by his own mind.

Noticing his lack of movement, Hyunjin glances up from his wristwatch and snorts. “Too bad,” he taunts. “That’s written in the ancient Seoullis language. Good luck trying to decipher that.”

Jisung grunts, and he’s about to pull up the translator on his wristwatch when Hyunjin squeals. He _squeals._ Jisung doesn’t know whether to be annoyed or amused. “Found a lead!”

“Congratulations,” Jisung deadpans. He slams the journal down onto the table, albeit a little too loudly, because Nayeon snaps her head up and narrows her eyes at him. Jisung rolls his eyes, trying hard not to meet Hyunjin’s triumphant grin. “What’s it about?”

“What, are you _actually_ pissed that I found the lead first?” Hyunjin coos. His tone is condescending, igniting something deep in Jisung’s chest. He wants nothing more than to smash the petty second lieutenant’s face into the table, but decides it’s better off to remain civil. The colonel wouldn’t be happy, after all. 

Jisung inhales, exhales. “No,” he answers curtly. “Unlike _someone_ in this room, I’m not that hell bent on trying to beat his colleague in some self-proclaimed competition when they’re both _supposed_ to be working together.”

This makes Hyunjin shut up, and Jisung’s heart sings gleefully. He glimpses at the illuminated, holographic words and reads. “ _The Search for The Last Gemma: An Extensive Research Report by KYH_." He groans. “This is _nine hundred_ pages long. How are we supposed to find a lead in this?”

“I scrolled through it,” Hyunjin explains. “The report, on the whole, just talks about the history of previous missions carried out to locate where the Gemma is. When I scrolled down to the bottom, though, KYH left something very cryptic behind.”

Jisung flicks down to the very last page of the document, and reads the last few lines aloud. “ _Sometimes, things should be left unsearched and unearthed, lest they lose the balance of life and death. The devil lies between the land and the sea. KYH._ ” 

Baffled, Jisung leans back in his seat. “What the flying hell should that mean, then?” he quizzes.

“This line: _the devil lies between the land and the sea._ ” Hyunjin’s finger traces along the holographic words. “It’s an alteration to the motto of one of the planets in the Stella Primum. Guess which?”

“This is not a geography class, Hwang,” Jisung chastises. “Just spit it out.”

“Ilsanis,” Hyunjin says. His eyes light up like two dark pools of wondrously bright stars. “Ilsanis’ motto is actually _The deed lies between the land and the sea,_ because it’s one of the few planets in our galaxy with water. If he switched up the motto in such a way-”

“-if he swapped ‘deed’ for ‘devil’, and if he doesn’t think the last Gemma should be found after all because of some particular reason-”

“-then our lead is on the planet of Ilsanis,” Hyunjin finishes. His eyes have curved up into a pair of crescents, and for a moment, Jisung is stunned. The hard lines that trace the second lieutenant’s face dissipate, instead replaced with an innocent look of genuine… happiness. 

And the moment passes. 

Hyunjin lowers his wristwatch. “This report was only recently posted, just a mere few months ago, which could suggest why previous missions have failed to find this lead so far.” He pats Jisung’s shoulder. In Jisung’s bewilderment, the other begins packing up his things and stands to his feet. “Anyways, since I was the one who found the lead, I think it’s only right if you typed up the report of my findings to the colonel. Fairness and all that, hm?”

“Wait,” Jisung splutters. He stands to his feet, the chair scraping noisily behind him. “Shouldn’t the _both_ of us work on the report? It’ll take me all night!”

Hyunjin even has the audacity to yank off his scrunchie, allowing his hair to cascade past his eyes. He cards a hand through his hair with a simple smile. “And you must remember that the colonel only accepts the most detailed of reports,” he adds. “It’s only fair, Lieutenant. Good luck with it!”

If only they weren’t in this stupid library, Jisung would’ve most definitely pounced onto the oh-so-gracious Hwang Hyunjin and tackled him to the ground. He’s sure he’s got more strength packed in him than those stupidly limp arms under those stupid branded clothes. Jisung holds his breath until Hyunjin finally leaves the library with a flourish, and then he screams.

✴

“Woah,” Felix blinks. “You look like shit.”

All Jisung can offer is a feeble “Ughhhhhh” as his coffee overflows from his mug. He doesn’t even flinch, and it’s up to Felix to hurriedly wipe up the coffee that’s sloshed over his wrist. “Han, you alright? You look like you didn’t even sleep a wink.”

“Oh, I definitely did _not_ sleep,” Jisung yawns. He knows he looks absolutely wrecked right now — he hadn’t made an attempt to tame his hair this morning, his forehead is breaking out, his foundation bottle had clattered to the floor and shattered into pieces, and he’s now sporting a pair of deep eye bags. Still, he thinks he doesn’t look _that_ bad, until Jeongin walks into the cafeteria and shrieks like a banshee.

“Han!” Jeongin blinks. “Are you… are you alright?”

Jisung sets his mug down noisily onto the tabletop. “Yes,” he replies impassively. 

Fuck Hwang Hyunjin. Fuck him and his little, scheming brain. Fuck him and his stupidly perfect nose. Fuck everything! Thanks to that goddamned report, he’d stayed up till 5 a.m. typing up the report and skimming through all nine hundred pages of that damned report to provide convincing evidence that this was most definitely a lead in their search for the last Gemma. At some point, he’d fallen asleep on the keyboard, and had to delete at least ten pages’ worth of keyboard smash.

“Fuck him,” Jisung mutters, setting his breakfast plate down and sliding into his seat.

As if on cue, Hyunjin strides right into the cafeteria, towed by several other cadets and even trainee cadets. Jisung supposes that’s not new, given that they recently brought in the new recruits less than a month ago, and practically everyone under Hyunjin’s battalion had instantly fallen prey to his devilishly good looks and oh-so-kind personality. 

Jisung knows better, though, and ends up glaring at him while stuffing his cheeks with scrambled eggs.

Puzzled, Felix follows his senior’s line of gaze and spots Hyunjin. “Did you and Hyunjin get into a spat again?” he asks tentatively. Even though Felix and Jeongin are technically his juniors, the three of them had passed their probationary periods in the military together, and Jisung considers the both of them his close friends. Felix most definitely knows exactly when Jisung’s riled up as hell.

“Ha! _Me?_ Fighting with Hwang Hyunjin?” Jisung guffaws. “No way. That’s petty as fuck.”

Jeongin leans over the table. “Didn’t you both almost kill each other in the archery room over a split arrow?” he whispers.

“My dear Jeonginnie, I reiterate: it was a _justifiable_ issue,” Jisung snaps. He scoops up another spoonful of eggs and almost slams the metal against his own teeth. “First off, he almost cut my goddamned ear off. Secondly, he obviously cheated, y’know. How else would his arrow have sliced right through mine?”

“It took precision and a hell lot of experience.” At the sudden voice, Jisung’s eyes widen. He glimpses up, only to meet the disgusting smirk splayed across Hyunjin’s lips. “Mind if I sit here?”

Oh, so _this_ is how he’s going to play this game? Both Felix and Jeongin have gone stock still, their jaws hanging comically as their eyes bug out at this unexpected turn of events. Jisung smooths his brow and tries to look straight into Hyunjin’s eyes, but the lethargy sort of allows his eyelids to go up halfway. “Oh, I don’t mind. Would never mind, actually! Sit anywhere you wish.”

As Hyunjin glides down into the seat directly opposite Jisung, Felix, who’s sat next to the man in question, kicks at Jisung’s shin and widens his eyes as if to ask _What the flying fuck is going on?_ Jisung only grins like a Chesire cat as he begins to butter his slice of toast. “What brings you to our humble dwelling, Hwang?” Jisung asks nonchalantly.

Hyunjin pokes at his salad with a fork, his eyes still remaining on Jisung’s face. “Thought I should drop by and say hi,” he replies, grinning. Jisung wants nothing more than to slap that idiotic grin off of the man’s face; maybe _then_ he’d shut up. 

Felix clears his throat. “Anyways, why _did_ you stay up all night, Jisung?”

His memory jogs him back to yesterday evening, when Chan had clearly told the both of them not to let a word out about their mission. “Uhhh,” Jisung frowns. “I was watching… a documentary?”

Unlike his two friends who know about Jisung’s love for watching anything and everything, from geckos on Earth to slime monsters on Argum, Hyunjin arches an eyebrow in curiosity. “A documentary? About what?” Hyunjin perches his chin upon his hand and purses his lips together. “Were you watching documentaries about finding the last-”

“-I was watching a documentary about sharks!” Jisung squeaks. “Sharks! They’re, uh, big white animals that lurk in the oceans on the planet of Earth, and they are a group of elasmobranch fish characterised by a cartilaginous skeleton, five to seven gill slits on the sides of the head, and pectoral fins that are not fused to the head, and-”

“-uh, we _get_ it, Jisung,” Hyunjin laughs, in this irritating _pfft haha_ manner that makes Jisung’s blood begin to boil. “You’re a nerd for sharks.”

The moment the word ‘nerd’ slips from his lips, Felix and Jeongin exchange a panicked look. The both of them know just how much Jisung _hates_ being called a nerd for watching all those random documentaries he loves. Jeongin grips onto the edge of the table and makes a silent prayer ( _Oh, Seoullis and stars, in the name of our wise Governor and all things great_ ) for Hyunjin’s flesh to remain intact onto his bones, at least for now.

Yet, Jisung doesn’t say anything. Instead, he finishes off his slice of bread and smiles thinly at Hyunjin. “Better than being an airhead, right? I wouldn’t know what that’d feel like. Anything to say about it, Hwang?”

Oh, _no._ Felix mouths at Jisung to _CUT IT OUT YOU STUPID FUCK!_ while dragging a finger across his throat, but Jisung ignores him. He can’t help the delight in watching the tips of Hyunjin’s ears reddening. His eyes have curved into slits, and he twirls his fork in his fingers.

Despite Jisung’s cocky bravado, though, he instantly wishes to slap his own face. Before Hyunjin can lunge across the table and make a grab for his neck, though, he’s saved by the thrill of his wristwatch, signalling an email that he’s just received. He averts his gaze from the man opposite him and glances down at the email.

From: bangchan@seoullis.com

Subject: Operation Novissimis

To: hanjisung@seoullis.com

Lieutenant Han

Thank you for the prompt report. I have looked into it. 

Please meet me at my office with Second Lieutenant Hwang as soon as possible.

Colonel Bang

“Is it the colonel?” Hyunjin hisses.

Jisung shoots him a wary look, before hurriedly peeking at their other companions. “The colonel?” Felix quizzes. “Didn’t the both of you just see him yesterday?”

“Right,” Jisung nods. “Uh, it’s a follow-up meeting.” His eyes flick back to Hyunjin’s. “He wants to see us ASAP.”

The two lieutenants know well enough what this means. Whilst Felix and Jeongin exchange some small talk between themselves, the other two wolf down their breakfasts and make a dash to chuck their trash in the bin. Jisung barely manages to wave bye to his friends before taking off down the hallway, Hyunjin already well ahead of him. 

_Petty._ Jisung grits his teeth as he tries his very best to catch up to the other man. How petty can the both of them be for even competing to walk faster than the other? Yet, Jisung is not ready for his ego to be bruised, and so he picks up the pace and fast-walks down the corridors. Much to his chagrin, though, his legs are barely three-quarters the length of Hyunjin’s. 

_Unfair,_ Jisung seethes. Perfect nose, perfect reputation, and now perfect legs. What’s next? A perfect-smelling fart?!

Eventually, the both of them skid to a halt right outside the door to the colonel’s office. Panting, Jisung doubles over at his knees and sighs. Beaten once again. Obviously, Hyunjin takes great pride in this and smirks down at the other. Before Jisung can stand back to his full height, Hyunjin leans down so close, until his warm breath fans over the other’s ear.

“First,” he whispers. His voice is low, spiteful even, and it sends an unpleasant chill down Jisung’s spine. Jisung narrows his eyes at Hyunjin, who grins sharply and brings his fist up to knock against the metallic door.

From inside, Colonel Bang’s voice resonates vibrantly, even through the sturdy door. “Come in!” 

On cue, Hyunjin twists the door knob open to reveal a visibly better-slept colonel clicking away at his laptop and scanning his screen. _At least, better slept than I look,_ Jisung thinks. As soon as the two of them stop short before his desk, Chan glimpses up at them and gestures for them to take a seat. 

“Gentlemen,” Chan nods. He looks at Jisung, and the latter’s slightly stunned to see the broad grin he’s sporting across his face, so broad it looks ready to split his face in half. “Han, I’ve gone through the report, and might I say, I’m impressed that the both of you have found a lead so terribly quickly. It must be a stroke of luck, I’d admit, stumbling across such a lead.”

Jisung doesn’t do so much as nod at the colonel. He licks his chapped lips and impatiently waits for the senior’s next words.

“Understandably, this is quite an abrupt event, but I’d like to request that the both of you carry out _Operation Novissimis_ in under twelve hours’ time.”

The surprise is evident on the two lieutenants’ faces. Dumbfounded, Jisung blinks several times, and even pinches himself through his sleeve to check that he’s awake. Perhaps the sleeplessness is beginning to settle into his bones. “I’m sorry, Colonel?”

The colonel clasps both hands together on the desk. “I’d like to request that the both of you pack for the mission — lightly, of course — and head straight for the hangars, preferably before late afternoon,” he instructs. “I know this is very sudden, but like I said — the faster we get to it, the faster we might get our hands on the last Gemma first.”

Not surprisingly, Hyunjin is the first to snap back to his senses. “Of course, Colonel,” he replies. “We’ll do our very best to carry out the mission successfully.”

 _Ass kisser,_ Jisung gripes inwardly. “Yes, Colonel,” he nods. His face remains solemn as the two of them scrape back their chairs, ready to leave the office. 

That is, until the colonel parts his lips once more. “Hwang, you may leave. Han, I’d like to have a word with you.”

Puzzled, Jisung plops back down onto the seat. He watches as Hyunjin stares at the both of them, confused as well, before turning on his heel and slipping out of the office room. As soon as the door clicks shut behind him, Jisung’s eyes snap back to the colonel’s face.

The colonel smiles warmly. “Don’t need to act defensive, Lieutenant,” he chuckles. 

Jisung frowns, realising how tensed his shoulders are. “Sorry,” he apologises. “What would you like to speak to me about, Colonel?”

Chan rubs the back of his neck awkwardly, as if delaying time to think through his words. “I understand that it’ll be considerably difficult to work alongside Hwang, especially with whatever brood the both of you seem to have cooked up,” he says slowly. “But I’d like if you take good care of him throughout the mission.”

Jisung cannot, and _absolutely cannot,_ believe his very ears. “What?” he blurts. 

“You’ve been with us for seven years now: trained two years, served five. You’re one of our most trusted assets on board the Motherboard, here on the planet of Seoullis,” Chan explains. “Whilst Hyunjin has the experience serving the Motherboard in our other branch, he hasn’t had the chance to head out on major missions before, let alone a mission as huge as this.”

Frustration builds up in his gut. Jisung swallows, willing himself not to say something nasty, lest his unwired mouth betrays himself before his senior. “I’ve never embarked on such a paramount operation before either, Colonel,” he points out. “Why should… why should _I_ take care of him?”

Something passes Chan’s eyes, something akin to… pity? Sorrow? “From past records, I know you work under pressure much better than he does,” he admits. “I know that personally, too, from leading your individual aptitude tests. Though it’s not especially conspicuous, I’ve seen how he can crack under immense pressure, which is what this mission entails.

“I’ve actually paired you up with him to help him with that factor as well,” Chan continues. “This isn’t simply a mission about your ability to decipher clues or locate the Gemma — it’s a test of your mental strength. We’re not sure how long the both of you are going to be out there in open space. If you two were to have a run-in with the Ordinem, it’s the both of you against the lot of them. You’re someone I know who is capable of facing such a challenge head-first.”

Hearing such a compliment from Chan should inflate Jisung’s ego immensely; hell, the colonel is praising him and the capabilities he’s honed from years of constant training. But Jisung can’t help but feel tremendously let down. Is this mission going to be about a race for a Gemma, or some stupid one-on-one tutoring session on how to keep emotions in check? “If you think Hyunjin’s not capable of all that, then why have him on the mission, then?”

His words come out sharper than intended, and he immediately bites down on his tongue. The colonel doesn’t make a move to admonish him, though. Chan releases an exasperated sigh and glances down at the table. “I think he’d be a good balance to your work ethic as well,” he answers. “You’re very… go-getter, if that’s the right phrase. Sometimes, I realise your mind and the rest of the body aren’t wired, and your body tends to move faster than you can think. On the other hand, Hwang takes risks, but _calculated_ risks.”

Jisung’s ego deflates like a balloon. “So you’re saying that it’s likely for me to mess things up,” he deadpans.

Chan smiles thinly. “I just think it’d be good to have the both of you on board the mission, alright?” he says. “Anyways, you may leave now, Han-”

“-one more question, Colonel,” Jisung interrupts. He knows he should probably be more respectful to his senior, but right now, his mind is frazzled, dazed with the effects of exhaustion still looming over him. Shout at him all you want, but his brain feels positively dead, only thriving off of one thought: Hwang Hyunjin. “Is Hyunjin only on board because it’ll look good for everyone?"

The colonel frowns. “Excuse me?” His eyebrows knit together, but the expression forming on his face is certainly not confusion.

 _Okay, abort, abort!_ Jisung thinks. “Nothing, nothing!” he splutters. He frantically scrambles to his feet and practically leaps across the office room to the door. “I’ll just head out right now. See you, Colonel-”

“-Han.” Jisung braces himself for the oncoming barrage, and swivels around. To his surprise, though, Chan doesn’t say anything at first. He simply looks at Jisung, and smiles. “You know how I work. I wouldn’t jeopardise my juniors by sending them off on a mission simply for the sake of their names. I hope you’ll find more than that in Hwang on your mission with him.”

Jisung doesn’t say anything in response. Instead, he nods jerkily, turns the doorknob and exits the office. He clicks the door shut, and immediately slides down against the cold metal with a shaky sigh. 

No matter how good Jisung thinks he is, there’s always going to be someone better. Unfortunately for him, that someone came in the form of Hwang Hyunjin. He grits his teeth and stands to his feet. 

He’s going to prove Chan wrong, that Jisung is _most definitely_ the one worthy of taking on this mission, and he’s going to see Hwang Hyunjin crack under pressure once and for all, just to fuel that feeling gnawing away at his chest.

✴

Once they’ve packed up their necessities, Jisung and Hyunjin head for the hangars. Apparently, the colonel has tasked one of their most trusted technicians, Kim Minji, to briefly introduce to them their assigned ship that’ll most likely be their home for the next few days.

By the time they reach the hangars, the white noise of the hallways has dwindled away, giving way to the cluttering and clattering of metal resonating throughout the open space. Jisung feels his heart lift and soar as he shuffles into the hangars. Across the wide expanse laid the most pristine ships glimmering under the blinding lights. Shouts filled the hangars, as engineers and technicians set to work, bustling from one end of the space to the other while hefting toolboxes. 

Beyond the magnetic shield separating the Motherboard from space, the view of the blanket of darkness, dotted with its dozens of stars, bedazzles Jisung. Despite having come down to the hangars countless times for the past seven years of his life, he’ll never become used to the thrill of being a part of the Motherboard and taking on mission after mission shooting enemy troops across the skies.

He grins to himself, searching the crowds for the pink-haired technician. He’s seen her around before, said hi several times — hell, it’d probably be a sin _not_ to know who Minji is. Even though she’s only been around for a year or so, her quick wit became the word of mouth amongst the engineers. She has the most intricate experience with every fighter ship, from the X-fighters to the Ace ships, which obviously makes her the best woman to consult for their mission.

Eventually, Minji pops out from behind one of the larger starfighters. Noticing the two lieutenants’ presence, she immediately beams and bounds over to them. “Kim Minji, at your service!” she grins. 

She nods at Jisung, before glancing at Hyunjin. “Hey, Hyunjin! Did you listen to that song I sent you last week?”

Surprisingly enough, a blush dusts across Hyunjin’s cheeks. “Sure did,” he smiles. There it is, the million-dollar smile that always leaves basically everyone weak in the knees. Jisung struggles to not barf out his lunch as Minji blinks several times at the other man. 

“The colonel says the both of you have a huge mission ahead of y’all,” she says, nodding at the bags in tow. “C’mon over, I just tweaked this baby up — you both are going to love her.”

The two of them snatch up the bait of curiosity, and walk behind Minji as she winds through the dozens of fighter ships arranged neatly in rows. “To be frank with you, no one’s ridden this baby before. Brand new, with the most high-tech GPS tracker and the sleekest seats your asses will ever have the pleasure of sitting on. And let’s not forget she’s equipped with the finest cockpit shooters; you’re going to _love_ the controls.”

With every passing second, the anticipation only increases in Jisung’s body. It seems like Hyunjin’s exhilarated, too, because he even shoots a broad grin at his assigned partner. Jisung would have liked to smile back, but then the memory of his conversation with Chan from this morning resurfaces in his mind, and he presses his lips together into a thin line.

“This one,” Minji grins. “Ta-da! Say hello to the Golden Ace Fighter, the finest of the finest, the best of the best so far.”

Jisung’s eyes widen into saucers. Displayed before his eyes is perhaps the most magnificent ship he’s ever had the opportunity of laying his eyes on. The fighter’s external cover gleams with gold, the surface perfectly immaculate. Seoullis and stars, she’s finer than any person he’s ever seen in all his years of living.

He hurriedly clambers right into the cockpit, followed by Hyunjin in tow. He whoops with joy as he lands right into one of the seats. “Holy shit,” he breathes. He slides down on the velvet cushion, unable to contain the grin spreading across his face like wildfire. “This is fucking heaven.”

Hyunjin glances up at the overhead controls, flicking one of them on. “You’re right,” he mutters. “These controls are smooth as hell.”

From where she’s stood at the entrance, Minji barks with laughter. “Only invented by the best,” she giggles, waggling her eyebrows. 

Jisung has never felt this excited in a long while. Sure, he’s much too used to his own fighter ship, old and battered but trusty; this, though, might as well give him the run of a lifetime. He chuckles when he notices the Munchlax figurine dangling overhead. “Did this come with the ship?” he muses.

“A gift from me,” Minji replies. “Think of it as a good luck charm.”

Hyunjin begins to descend from the ship to take up their bags, and when he does so, Jisung can see the both of them conversing from the cockpit windows. To his utter disgust, Minji curls her fingers around Hyunjin’s wrist while looking right into his eyes, before bringing his hand up to her lips to kiss his knuckles. Jisung opts to look for a barf bag when he notices the other man’s reddened ears. 

Jealous? _No way,_ Jisung scoffs to himself. He’s sure he can pick up pretty much any lady he wants, too; he simply doesn’t have the time nor the effort to find some girl to bring back to his room or anything. His lack of action definitely does not have anything to do with his inability to speak coherently around pretty people. 

Definitely not.

As Hyunjin dumps their stuff into the back of the ship, Jisung snorts. “So you got your farewell kiss already, huh?” he taunts. “Get your ass over here already.”

Hyunjin grunts, mumbling something incoherent under his breath. Eventually, he clambers into the seat beside Jisung and turns the engine on. The Golden Ace’s engine revs, roaring as she comes alive. Jisung relishes in the momentous feeling of everyone’s eyes scanning the hangars for the source of the sound, only to notice the two lieutenants strapped into the sleekest ship of them all.

Jisung glances over at Hyunjin, at the hard lines of his face, at the upturned quirk of the corner of his lips. “You ready, big baby?” 

Hyunjin rolls his eyes, but he doesn’t fight the grin from his face. “Readier than ever.”

As soon as Jisung finishes maneuvering them through the rows of ships, he allows the thrill in himself to fly and overtake his body. He watches the magnetic shield fall slowly, revealing the vast expanse of the galaxies before their very selves. He clutches onto the controller until his knuckles turn white, takes a deep breath, before pushing forward.

And off they go, into the skies and beyond. 


	2. chapter two

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> me: uses elements from the star wars universe  
> also me on google: "what do u call those sphere thingies in jurassic park"
> 
> there's mention of a gunshot, but no blood/gory stuff!! other than that, hope u enjoy the update

“I don’t suppose you realise this,” Jisung grunts, jerking his controller to the right, “but Ilsanis is to our east.”

Hyunjin presses his lips together tightly. “Yeah, and you’re veering us to the west, airhead.”

“I’m not an airhead, _airhead-_ ”

“-for fuck’s sake, look out!”

Hyunjin jerks his controller to a sharp left, narrowly avoiding a chunk of an asteroid hurtling right into the Golden Ace. Great. They’ve barely flown for an hour and almost missed death already. Jisung feels like he’s on the top of the fucking world. 

Slumping down into his seat, Jisung swivels to glare at his unlikely companion. “Airhead.”

“Asshole.”

“Dumbass.”

“You’re a fucking flight risk,” Hyunjin curses. “You almost sent us dying on a passing asteroid! How the hell are we going to get to Ilsanis at this rate?”

According to the map Jisung had pulled up onto their dashboard, Ilsanis is a ten-hour flight away, a gruelling journey across the galaxy of the Stella Primum. Jisung grits his teeth and courses on, ignoring the exasperated sighs from the overgrown baby sat beside him. Forget succeeding this mission, Jisung would feel relieved enough if he’s able to endure Hyunjin co-piloting with him through the next ten hours of hell.

Jisung scrolls through the dashboard, clicking over to their radars and checking their vitals. “No one else is in the vicinity,” he mumbles. At least this means they’d have a slim chance of running into any of the Ordinem troops, but Jisung still feels on guard. Even if the Ordinem doesn’t know about their plan to find the last Gemma, it wouldn’t be unlikely to run into at least one of their ships in this large expanse; after all, the last time the Motherboard had checked, the Ordinem had at least 500,000 troops kept at bay. 

_All to find a single glowing gem,_ Jisung muses. 

Next to him, Hyunjin unfastens his seatbelt and stands. “Let’s take shifts,” he groans. “You can fly the first five, I’m going to crash first.”

Jisung rolls his eyes. “Yes, sir,” he grunts. He turns his head around for a moment, watching Hyunjin’s back disappearing behind the door and taking off towards the barracks at the other end of the Golden Ace. At least the lieutenant has some time to himself… for now.

Yet, it’s a tough fight to fly through five straight hours by himself. He’s used to battling in quick fights, whizzing through space at top speed and aiming fire at row upon row of opponent shooters. He’s never had to embark on such a long, exhausting flight before, steering through nothingness. 

He sighs, and decides to go autopilot for a while. With a hand tucked under his chin, Jisung peers out of the cockpit window. Beyond the glass panes lies entire galaxies, as far as the eye can reach. Distant stars twinkle brightly, giving the illusion of its imaginary closeness to the Golden Ace. He swears he sees a comet passing by several miles off, and he grins.

Maybe this should be mundane for any other experienced pilot, but Jisung thinks he’ll always be continually impressed by the Universe, time and time again, regardless of how many times he’ll launch himself into the vacuum of space and time. 

A distant memory appears in his mind. When he was only six years old, he was watching a documentary centering around the troops on the Motherboard, and he would gaze on in awe as the cadets-in-training attended the most demanding of training and fought through the harshest of tests, before being awarded their licenses to fly and being posted to the troops. 

To say the least, Jisung had been starstruck. Despite his parents’ wishes for him to become a doctor or a lawyer, Jisung enrolled for the troops at the age of eighteen.

Looking back at it, Jisung thinks he’s had to battle through the worst. Being the least athletic in his class back in high school, to say that the training was difficult would be a severe understatement. Waking up at the crack of dawn and going to bed at the early hours of 2 or 3 am were perhaps the least of his worries. Every day was a trial against the aches in his muscles and the jabs at his mentality.

But he knew the blood, sweat and tears he shed were worth it — he graduated at the top of his class, earning his license to fly and a permanent spot as a cadet. His first flight with the rest of the troops would forever be ingrained in his mind; how the adrenaline had surged through his veins, how the sight of the stars streaked past in his peripheral vision, how the crackling of static and laughter buzzed through his earpiece as he flew through space alongside his fellow troops.

Jisung grins a little to himself. He pops on a slow song into the radio, swaying his head in time with the beat as he navigates the little ship through the asteroids and debris of space.

✴

By the time they’ve travelled through five hours, it’s already 2am in local time back at Seoullis. Yawning, Jisung groans as he tries to stretch out the kinks in his shoulders. “Hwang!” he groans. “You’re up!”

When he receives no response, Jisung curses under his breath. He sets the ship on autopilot and shuffles through the doors, emerging into the barracks. Instead of finding Hyunjin asleep on one of the single beds, though, Jisung notices how the other is already up and awake, instead flipping through what seems to be a photo album.

Jisung furrows his eyebrows. “Hwang,” he calls. “Your turn to fly.”

Startled, Hyunjin’s eyes snap up. To Jisung’s surprise, the former’s eyes look a little shaky, his pupils blown wide. “Sorry,” he mumbles. He chucks the album into his rucksack and throws it onto his bed. “I’ll get going, then.”

The spite in his voice is missing, instead replaced by a kind of… vulnerability, something Jisung has never heard from the other lieutenant before. Frowning, Jisung’s eyes follow his trail as Hyunjin brushes past him and heads to the cockpit. As soon as he’s out of his sight, Jisung’s eyes land on the rucksack on the bed. He wonders if the album had anything to do with the shift in Hyunjin’s mood.

Something pricks under his skin, something akin to curiosity. It niggles at Jisung desperately, a hummingbird flapping its wings irritatingly, dying, _dying_ to escape from its cage.

It’s tempting. Very, very tempting. All Jisung would have to do is snatch up the photo album and flick through it for a mere few seconds, before stuffing it back into its rightful place. 

Jisung groans and buries his head in his hands. He can’t possibly do that. No matter how much he despises Hyunjin, he definitely can’t invade his arch nemesis’ privacy like this. He curses his own dignity as he clambers into his own single bed and squeezes his eyes shut.

When he awakes, Jisung’s slightly alarmed to realise he’s slept through a solid four hours. Still, he can’t blame himself; thanks to a certain _someone_ , he hadn’t been able to catch a wink the previous night. His muscles groan as he forces himself out of bed, stuffs his feet into his combat boots and trudges out into the cockpit.

“Morning,” Jisung mumbles, before landing onto his seat. 

Beside him, Hyunjin grunts. He grips the controller in his hands so tightly, his knuckles whiten. Jisung arches an eyebrow at this, but he doesn’t seem to question it. He’d rather take silent, brooding Hyunjin over cocky, talkative Hyunjin any day.

Instead, he flicks through the map and purses his lips together. “We’ve covered a lot of space,” he comments. “We’re only about half an hour away from Ilsanis now.”

Hyunjin still doesn’t say anything, only hums. His gaze is steely cold, pinned to the nothingness ahead of them. Irritated, Jisung scoffs at the other’s lack of response. “Anyways, I’m going to get some breakfast. Do you want anything?”

No response.

Jisung feels like tearing his hair out. “Okay, you’re going to starve. Gotcha,” he retorts. He scrambles to his feet and heads back to the barracks, just to pour himself a bowl of cereal (dry, because he hadn’t thought of bringing along any milk. Dangit. He certainly doesn’t have experience packing for long-distance journeys.) On his return, Hyunjin still hasn’t budged an inch from where he’s sat at the pilot’s seat.

Annoyed, Jisung pokes Hyunjin’s upper arm with the rounded end of his spoon. “Universe to Hyunjin, you in there?” he quizzes.

Hyunjin sighs. “What do you want?” he mutters. 

“Do you want breakfast or not?” Jisung asks, scooping up cornflakes and stuffing them into his mouth. “You _do_ realise we’re going to be very busy in about an hour’s time down there at Ilsanis, which means we won’t have time for any food.”

“I’m not going to eat, then,” Hyunjin frowns. 

Whatever. If his companion isn’t going to eat, Jisung can help in no way whatsoever if Hyunjin will die of starvation or something along those lines. He plops down into his seat and shrugs. “Suit yourself,” he mumbles. He sets his bowl of cereal onto the dashboard and scrolls through his wristwatch. “Ooh, there’s a connection out here! I’m going to read the news-”

“-don’t.”

Stunned, Jisung gapes at the other. “You _don’t_ want me to read the news?” he asks, dumbfounded.

Hyunjin licks his chapped lips. He turns his head and glares down at Jisung. His eyes are fiery, and Jisung can’t help but feel his heart leap to his throat as his eyes meet Hyunjin’s cold gaze. “Just don’t,” he warns. 

“What, are you my mom or something?” Jisung snorts. “I’ll do whatever the hell I want on my Seoullis watch, honey. I’ll read the news, I’ll email my friends — hell, I’ll even watch porn if I wanted to, right here, right now, with you right beside me.”

Hyunjin chuckles dryly. “I’d rather hear some fake moans from your stupid porn videos then have you read the news, then,” he grimaces.

“Why the hell do you not want me to read the news?” Jisung grumbles. “It’s literally reported publicly to every fucking galaxy in this Universe!”

“Because I don’t want you to!”

“And why the _hell_ are you denying my right to free press?!” Jisung screeches. He’s about ten seconds away from lunging right at Hyunjin and slapping that stupid look from his face. “Why’re you suddenly acting like some dumb baby begging at his dad?”

At this, Hyunjin’s eyes narrow at him. “Shut up.”

“No, _you_ shut up.”

“You shut up first.”

“Why should _I_ shut up? _You_ should shut up first-”

“-Holy shit, just shut _up_!” Hyunjin cries, voice cracking.

In an instance, silence drapes over the both of them in a curtain. Panting, Jisung heaves to catch his breath. A droplet of sweat rolls down from his scalp; he hadn’t realised how heated his argument with Hyunjin had actually been until now. Hyunjin huffs, rolls his eyes and directs his attention back to the cockpit windows.

Jisung swallows. He’s never riled up Hyunjin to his breaking point before. As far as he knows, their arguments have consisted of petty comebacks and savage remarks, but they’ve never gone so far as to shout at each other over something as trivial as _reading the news_. Jisung scoffs at himself. _Well,_ that _would make an amazing news headline._

“Fine,” Jisung gripes. He scoops up his bowl of cereal and plonks it right into his lap. “I won’t read the fucking news. Happy now?”

“Whatever.”

Ignoring Hyunjin’s disdain, Jisung continues to wolf down his cereal, albeit a little angrily. His cheeks swell with every spoonful of cereal. 

The rest of the journey is silence, save for the crunching of Jisung’s cornflakes as Hyunjin navigates his way through the great expanse. Eventually, Jisung notices a tiny speck up ahead of them. Upon closer inspection, the grey planet of Ilsanis comes to view. Even from up here, Jisung can see the towering skyscrapers poking out of the ring of its atmosphere. After all, Ilsanis is known for its frightfully tall infrastructure and advancing technology. 

Hyunjin steers the Golden Ace towards the docking port, where visiting spaceships usually land. Within minutes, they’ve descended upon Ilsanis and veered their way towards the transit. The silver overhead structure looms eerily over them as the Golden Ace ducks right under the welcoming towers and towards the docking ports.

At the transit stations, Hyunjin stops the ship and lowers the window. One of the Ilsanis guards leans over the counter and very obviously checks out the exterior of the Golden Ace. Jisung swears he can see the guard swooning at the sight of the beaut — not that he’s surprised, of course. The Golden Ace is barely making any noise at all as it hovers over the platform, whirring gently as Hyunjin produces their IDs for the guards to check.

“Wow, you’re all the way from Seoullis?” the guard muses, surprised as he flips through their IDs and scans their visiting documents. “For business, I presume?”

Hyunjin smiles warmly. It’s the first time Jisung’s seen him smile in almost twenty-four hours. “Exactly, officer,” he grins. “We’re kinda in a rush, too, so it’d be great if we could just dock and get going.”

From where Jisung’s sat, he can very obviously see how the guard is very, _very_ taken by the handsome man before him. The guard mirrors Hyunjin’s grin and returns their documents. “In that case, you can actually land your ship over by the hangars over there. Usually, only us guards and other officials land there, but I could make an exception for you.”

Jisung snickers, earning him a glare from Hyunjin. “How kind of you,” he says to the guard. “We’ll be on our way, then.”

Hyunjin waves at the guard, before revving the Golden Ace’s engine once more and steering it towards the hangars. Jisung urges himself to hold his tongue when he notices the warm blush on the guard’s face. Hyunjin had barely spoken anything to the guard, and the latter was already smitten. Just great.

Soon enough, Hyunjin lands the Golden Ace at the hangars. He unfastens his seatbelt and stretches, groaning as he rolls his shoulders back. “We’re here,” he announces. He twists out the keys and pockets them, before jerking his thumb towards the doorway. “Now let’s get going.”

As soon as their feet hit the ground, Jisung sighs. Relieved to finally be out of that small space, he stretches out his arms with a long groan. “Alright, now let’s get going!” he grins, hoisting his satchel bag higher up his shoulder. Before he can start walking, though, Hyunjin yanks him back by the sleeve. 

“Wait, wait,” Hyunjin chastises. “First off, we need to adopt some fake names for the both of us. What if there’s Ordinem troops around? They’ll definitely be suspicious to find us Motherboard troops on Ilsanis, let alone walking around on foot.”

Jisung feels his cheeks burn up in embarrassment. “Right,” he coughs. “Alright. I’ll be Peter.”

Hyunjin chokes on air. “What kind of name is _that_?” he guffaws.

The lieutenant lifts his shoulder in a casual shrug. “Whatever. It’s basic as fuck, so no one will suspect anything. What about you?”

“I’ll go by Sam, then.”

Jisung snorts. “That’s worse than Peter.”

Hyunjin flicks Jisung’s arm, earning him a yowl of annoyance. “C’mon, let’s walk out to the main city already.” He bounds off, leaving Jisung in a trail of dust. Jisung frowns, realising the sudden shift in his companion’s mood once more. One hour ago, they’d been in a heated argument over watching the goddamned news. Now, he watches as Hyunjin greets several of the pilots in the hangar with a sweet smile on his lips.

Not like Jisung wishes to waste his time thinking about the other, anyways. He brushes the thought from his mind, and decides to race up to Hyunjin.

Once they’ve exited the transit towers, they instantly emerge in the bustling city of Ilsanis. To Jisung’s surprise, Ilsanis is just as busy as Seoullis back at home. All around them, skyscrapers seem to clamber for the skies, the tips of their towers disappearing beyond the ends of the atmosphere. Overhead, small carships fly along their marked routes in a flurry of metal. Down below on the ground, Jisung’s eyes widen when he realises that what would usually be cars back at their homeland are replaced by Gyrospheres, whizzing down the winding roads. 

“Woah,” he whispers. His jaw almost clatters to the floor as he admires the Gyrospheres driving down the roads right by their side. “You barely see these back in Seoullis.”

Hyunjin hums in response. “This place has definitely changed a lot since…” 

Confused, Jisung turns to look at Hyunjin. A mystic expression lays on his face that remains indecipherable. “Since when?”

As if he’s snatched out of his thoughts, Hyunjin shakes his head slightly. “Nothing,” he replies, forcing his voice to sound cheery. “Ilsanis has definitely advanced by quite a milestone, that’s all.”

Jisung has to actually agree with Hyunjin on this one. Since Seoullis concentrates more on being the main hub of the Motherboard, their government’s focal point isn’t much on technology; rather, they splurge more in the military and navy. On the other hand, Ilsanis is a hubble of modernity. Instead of cobble pavements, travelators wound through the streets, with stop-off points along the endless aisles of shops, bars and restaurants. 

“We have a problem, though.”

Jisung furrows his eyebrows together. “Whaddya mean?”

With a dismissive wave of his hand, Hyunjin gestures at the city jungle before them. “If Ilsanis is this huge,” he says slowly, “then how the hell are we supposed to locate this KYH guy?”

Right. KYH. The report bore no concrete evidence of where exactly the writer lived. After all, what they had was a lead, but a lead didn’t exactly entail every little last detail. The rest of the mission was going to be up to their intuition. Sighing, Jisung rubs his forehead with his thumb and forefinger. “Honestly, where do we even start?”

Hyunjin purses his lips together. He decides to pull up the report on his wristwatch, scanning its contents once more. “If he’s quoting from the planet’s national motto, maybe we should start near the Ilsanis Hubble, where their government officials gather bi-monthly every year.”

“Seems like a plan, then.” 

Out of subconsciousness, Jisung’s eyes wander towards a shop just across the street from them. His ears perk up in earnest when he reads the words at the storefront. A smirk begins to grow on his lips. “Say, Hwang,” he says. “How about renting one of those babies for ourselves?”

Hyunjin blinks up from his wristwatch. His face contorts into one of pure disgust. “They have baby rentals here? What the fuck?”

Jisung slaps his arm, groaning. “No, dumbass, look there.” He points at the store across the road, grinning at a gleaming Gyrosphere displayed at the storefront. The words across the top of it read _GYROSPHERE FOR RENT._

Finally, Hyunjin realises the other’s plan and laughs. “We are most _definitely_ riding that,” he agrees.

✴

“This might be a good time to realise neither of us have a license to drive this, right?”

Jisung leans back against the leather cushion and sighs. The only reason they dodged having to produce any Gyrosphere license was because Hyunjin had somehow found his way into the young cashier’s heart… and also the rental list of Gyrospheres available at their disposal. 

He watches as Hyunjin flicks several controls, frowning at the instruction manual that they’d found in the glove compartment. “That’s weird. The engine is supposed to be here-” As soon as Hyunjin punches one of the buttons on the circular dashboard, the glass sphere jerkily lifts itself up from the ground.

Startled, Jisung yelps and grabs onto the door handle. “A little warning would’ve helped!” he squeaks. 

“Oh, don’t be a baby,” Hyunjin scorns. He sets down the manual and steadies his hands onto the wheel. A ghost of a smile tickles his lips. “Alright, let’s get this little guy out on a spin.”

Carefully, he manages to steer them through the parking lot of Gyrospheres and out onto the main road. At the passenger seat, Jisung begins to punch the address for the Ilsanis Hubble into the built-in GPS system. “Alright, we’re good to go,” he nods. “Let’s get going.”

His companion doesn’t need to be told twice. Within seconds, their Gyrosphere rolls out and whizzes along the main road. Jisung whoops, relishing in the feeling of being so close to the ground. The buildings zip by his peripheral vision in streaks of grey and silver. He presses his nose against the window and laughs to himself. His eyes are wide in awe as he drinks in the sights of Ilsanis.

“You’re a funny one.”

Jisung swivels around, surprised. “Are you talking about me?” he asks dumbly.

Hyunjin laughs. “Of course,” he replies. As he makes a sharp right, their inertia throws them off to the side, sending Jisung yelping. “You look like you’ve never seen the world before. You’re so easy to please.”

Jisung doesn’t know whether he should feel offended or amused. “Well, when you spend your entire time on Seoullis, it’s a little bit of a culture shock when you visit a different planet,” he answers.

“Huh,” Hyunjin mutters. “You’ve seriously never travelled out of the planet?”

“My parents were always busy with work,” he says. His mouth is running much faster than his brain can comprehend what’s happening. Is he oversharing? Maybe. Maybe not. “They work for the government, so I don’t blame them. And it’s not like my elder brother could take me out of the planet for a holiday, either; he was already working by the time I was, like, six.”

A thoughtful expression overtakes Hyunjin’s face. “Well, I guess staying put is good, too,” he comments. “I was always moving from planet to planet.”

“Why so?”

Hyunjin turns to look at Jisung momentarily. Under the light of day, his blonde hair seems to glow with a halo over his head. His (unfairly) perfect nose scrunches as he smiles. The smile, Jisung realises, doesn’t quite reach his cold eyes. “My dad would travel a lot for work,” he explains. “When he was assigned to another planet for more than a year, my mum and I would follow him. It was exhausting, really. The moment you settle down somewhere, you’re packing up to leave for somewhere else.

“Sometimes, staying grounded is the better option,” Hyunjin finishes. He chuckles, tearing his eyes away from Jisung. “Am I oversharing?”

“No, you’re not,” Jisung affirms. He can’t seem to put a finger on the atmosphere right now, here in the enclosed space of the Gyrosphere, with Hyunjin driving the vehicle down the endless roads. Perhaps it’s because he can’t remember the last time they’ve acted so… civil. “What does your dad do for a living, anyways?”

At this, Jisung notices the way Hyunjin’s jaw clenches. “That’s a story for another day,” he utters. 

And just like that, the moment is instantly broken. Jisung sighs. “Just when we were getting to know each other a little better-”

“ _-you_ started it,” Hyunjin retorts. “Not like I wanted to start a conversation with you.”

The irritation is evident in Jisung’s scowl. “I don’t get why so many people seem to love sucking up to your ass,” he bites back. “You’re the most unapproachable person I’ve met in my entire life.”

“I could say the same,” Hyunjin spits. He clutches onto the wheel a little tighter. “You’re nothing but an asshole. Governor forbid you from finding someone to settle down with; you’d probably scare them away on the first date.”

Annoyed, Jisung laughs dryly and crosses his arms over his chest. “I bet people fall all over you the second they see you, but the moment you open your mouth, they’re running head over heels _away_ from you.”

Hyunjin smirks. “You’re just saying I’m good looking,” he taunts, “whilst no one would ever to spare a glance at you.”

Jisung refrains himself from succumbing to the urge to strangle the other, not when he’s in the driver seat of their Gyrosphere and navigating their way through the crowded roads. He slides his eyelids shut and exhales heavily from his mouth. “Look,” he says. “How about we just… shut up. The both of us. How about we just shut up and carry out this mission without getting into any argument? Because if this is what I have to put up with for the next few days, I think I’m going to go crazy.”

A snort resounds from beside him. “Agreed,” Hyunjin affirms. “I’d like to keep my head attached to the rest of my body, thank you very much.”

“Seoullis and stars,” Jisung mutters under his breath. “Fine. Do we have ourselves a deal?”

He cracks one eye open to see the scowl on Hyunjin’s lips. “Deal.”

“Deal.”

“Deal!”

“Shut up!”

“ _You_ shut up first!”

“Fine!"

“Fine!” 

Neither of them speak for the rest of the journey.

✴

Needless to say, the silence is stifling by the time they’ve pulled up near the Ilsanis Hubble, in the heart of the main city. Hyunjin parks the Gyrosphere in the parking lot close to a shopping mall. He stumbles out of the sphere, followed by Jisung. 

“Where to next?” Hyunjin asks, scanning their surroundings. All around them, people are milling up and down the travelators, getting off at certain shops or restaurants lined up along the streets. Overhead, evening has begun to set, with the last rays of their stellar sun gleaming down upon the towering skyscrapers and buildings looming in their wake. 

Jisung licks his lips and gazes at the several shops. “We’ll need to ask around if anyone knows who this KYH guy is,” he says. He gestures to a nearby bar at the other end of the street, where dozens of people can be seen through the glass windows, sharing drinks and dancing to music. “There seems to be a good start.”

“Alright, then,” Hyunjin huffs. “Let’s go.”

The both of them hop onto a travelator that winds through the street and eventually makes a U-turn to the other end of the road. Within minutes, they get off at a stop close to the bar, before strolling the rest of the way. The cursive words hanging over the front doorway read _TRAVELER'S TAVERN_. Jisung supposes it’s a little fitting for the two of them.

Jisung inhales sharply before shoving the glass door open. The silver bells atop their heads tinkle, announcing their arrival. Several eyes land on the both of them, with some of them arching their eyebrows at the presence of two very obvious foreigners. Unlike the rest of the patrons, the two lieutenants are dressed much too formally to be coming over for a drink.

Jisung swallows, attempting to maintain his composure as they weasel through the throng of people. He’s not used to crowded spaces, let alone a foreign environment altogether. He has to hold his breath as they pass by a smoking patron, whose cigarette leaves wisps of grey smoke curling in the dimly lit room.

Unlike him, Hyunjin seems unbothered by the atmosphere. He settles down comfortably on a barstool at the counter. Jisung simply mimics him, though he almost slides right off of the stool. Hyunjin rolls his eyes at him, before scanning the counter for any bartenders.

As if on cue, a young bartender hurries over to tend to the both of them. “Hi, welcome to Traveler’s Tavern, how may I help you?” he grins.

Jisung watches as the second lieutenant smiles slowly at the bartender, obviously trying to charm him. “Hi. Actually, we’re not here for a drink. We wanted to ask if you know someone who goes by KYH around here?”

Baffled, the bartender shakes his head. “Oh, sorry. I don’t know who they are,” he replies meekly, before bowing and returning his attention to another patron by the bar.

Before either of them can turn and ask someone on the dance floor, though, Jisung feels a tap on his shoulder. Stunned, he turns to look at the man seated next to him. The man looks to be in his thirties, dark hair styled fashionably to fall past his forehead in strands. His eyes seem to glimmer under the strobe lights of the bar. “You’re looking for KYH?” he asks.

Jisung nods. “Yeah. Do you know him?”

The man laughs heartily, before taking a sip of the beer in his hand. When he lowers his mug, his smile is immovable. “What’s your name, sonny?

 _Sonny?_ Jisung tries not to look scornful in front of the stranger (just because he looks young doesn't mean he's a kid, after all!) and instead plasters on a smile. “I’m Peter, and my friend over here is Sam.” He gestures at Hyunjin, who waves at the stranger in confusion. 

“You both aren’t from around here, are you?” the man questions, scanning the both of them and their attire. “And why’re you looking for KYH?"

Before Jisung can answer him, though, Hyunjin interjects. “We’re from the planet of Seoullis,” he explains. “We’re looking for KYH because we have some questions to ask him.”

The surprise is evident in the man’s face. His eyebrows almost shoot up to his hairline. “Coming all the way from Seoullis just to ask him a few questions? That’s quite bold of you two,” he chuckles. He sets his mug down onto the counter. Without a word to the two lieutenants, he waves down a bartender and slides a bill across the table. “Keep the change,” he tells the bartender.

His eyes flick back to the both of them, and he grins. “My name’s Kang Younghyun,” he greets, holding his hand out for a shake. “It’s a pleasure to meet the both of you, Han Jisung, Hwang Hyunjin.”

Jisung’s jaw almost drops to the floor. He sticks his trembling hand out, before giving the man a limp handshake. “How do you… how do you know who we are?"

Younghyun chortles. “Anyone who’s interested in the Motherboard and her troops would recognise the both of you from a mile away,” he chuckles. “And besides, I can track whoever has accessed my report online, and the last time I checked, the both of you have been scrolling through my report for hours on end, hm?”

Kang Younghyun. KYH. The moment the gears in his head click in place, Jisung gasps. “You’re KYH?!” he screeches. Around them, annoyed patrons shoot the three of them dirty looks, but for once, Jisung doesn’t seem to mind. “Holy shit, this is the best stroke of luck, like, ever.”

Even Hyunjin seems awestruck. “Wow,” he mutters. “How did we end up sitting right next to the man we’ve been looking for?”

Younghyun waggles his eyebrows. “Fate?” he jokes. He slides off of the barstool with ease, grinning. “Come on. We can head back to my place, and the both of you can ask your questions. I have a gut feeling that this is going to something quite special.”

As he turns on his heel to leave, Jisung glances wide-eyed at Hyunjin. “Dude, how the hell did we get so lucky?!” he whisper-shouts. 

The second lieutenant shakes his head. “I don’t even know,” he mumbles. “But I don’t think we should lower our guards down. We’re not even sure who this guy actually is.”

Jisung nods in agreement. “Yeah, sure. Now let’s get going.”

They follow Younghyun down the streets, leaving the Gyrosphere behind in the parking lot. None of them say anything for the entirety of the journey, as Younghyun leads them to what seems to be a residential area, a short walk away from the aisles of stores and eateries. The apartments seem to rise up for miles, and Jisung wonders if they would ever teeter or topple over in strong winds or thunderstorms. 

They pass by the apartments and make their way along narrow streets, where terrace houses are pressed wall-to-wall, flanking either side of the roads. At last, they reach the house at the end of the cul-de-sac, tucked away from the hustle and bustle of Ilsanis. “Here we are,” he grins, pointing at his home. 

He unlocks the gate with his wristwatch. The lock on the gates beeps noisily, before the metallic structure creaks open. Younghyun ushers the two lieutenants into his home first, guiding them up to his front porch before opening the front door. “Come on in, I’ll make us some hot tea.”

Jisung stumbles into the two-storey house, kicks off his combat boots and strides down the hallway. His head still doesn’t seem to be able to wrap around the idea that they’ve somehow struck the lottery and managed to find Younghyun on their first try. Dazed, he shuffles into the living room and settles down onto the couch. He admires the glass window that seems to take up a whole wall in the room, allowing the last few rays of evening sunlight to shine directly into the room.

Whilst Younghyun heads into the kitchen, Hyunjin plops down onto the couch and leans over to whisper in Jisung’s ear. “You sure he’s not, like, a serial killer?” he hisses. “What if he brought us home to kill us? He even knows who we are!”

“Ease it, Hwang,” Jisung huffs. He pats down his front pocket, hidden under the hem of his shirt. “You think I’d let us come here without bringing a weapon along.”

Frowning, Hyunjin palms the other’s pocket and inhales sharply. “You brought a _gun_ along?” he gasps.

“Of course?” Jisung snorts. “Why, did you come empty-handed?”

The shock on his companion’s face melts away, giving way for a smirk. “Of course not, who do you think I am?” He shows off his back pocket, where Jisung can see the outline of a taser through the denim. Jisung rolls his eyes, his ears burning up in embarrassment.

Younghyun hums as he shuffles into the room, balancing a tea tray in his hands. He sets it down onto the coffee table, and pours two cups of hot tea for the both of them, before pouring one for himself. “Help yourselves to the tea,” he grins. He takes up his own cup delicately and eases himself down onto an armchair, facing diagonally from the both of them.

Jisung presses his lips together into a tight smile, before shaking his head. “It’s alright,” he assures. “We just want to ask a few questions.”

Younghyun nods. He leans forward surreptitiously, and lowers his voice to a quiet whisper. “I suppose the both of you are looking for the last Gemma, then.”

“Yes,” Hyunjin confirms. “To simply put it, the Motherboard has recently faced a barrage of attacks from the Ordinem. We wish to secure the safety of the galaxies by obtaining the last Gemma first, in order to have somewhat of an upper hand over them.”

The writer seems to mull over this for a long while, pursing his lips together thoughtfully. “To be frank with the both of you,” he begins, “I myself have been intensely researching into the whereabouts of the last Gemma, for at least two decades now. I recently came back from a trip that might be my strongest hint as to where it’s hidden.”

Intrigued, Jisung leans forward with his hands on his knees. “Where did you go?” 

Younghyun sighs. “The catch is… I’m forbidden from telling you where it is.”

The anticipation that had been building up in Jisung’s chest instantly deflates. “What?” he splutters. “But you wrote that long ass report about the last Gemma. You wrote about its extensive history, as if you know what it’s all about, inside and out. How can you tell us that you’re forbidden from informing us of its location?”

“Look, I understand it seems a little strange,” Younghyun exhales. “But if I tell you upfront about its location, I’ll have to face some dire consequences.”

“Dire consequences?” Hyunjin echoes. He knits his eyebrows together, puzzled. “What could be more dire than having the Ordinem get their hands on the last Gemma first and unleashing their power over the entire Universe?”

Seemingly frustrated, Younghyun sets his cup down with a clatter onto the table. For a long, drawn out moment, he doesn’t say anything. His eyes flit from Jisung to Hyunjin, then back to the former. Jisung can see the gears in the man’s head turning, as if desperately searching for a way to connect the puzzle pieces together.

Finally, he stands to his feet. “Wait here.”

Jisung watches as the man disappears upstairs, his feet thumping noisily against the carpeted stairway. He groans and slumps down on the couch. “This all sounds so cryptic,” he whines. “Please don’t tell me we flew all the way here just to have some poser spew lies at us.”

For once, Hyunjin seems to agree with Jisung. 

When Younghyun returns, he’s retrieved a yellowed journal, its spine practically falling apart. “I can’t tell you verbally about where it is,” he explains slowly. “But what I _can_ do is pass you this. Inside, I’ve written clues of the Gemma’s whereabouts. Clues, hints, stories of its history. There’s even photo clippings and several documents inside.

“To be honest,” he mutters, pressing a hand to his forehead, “I don’t really wish to tell you where it is.” He peers up at the both of them, whose faces are laced with wonder. “Let me ask you: do you know what the Gemmas actually do?”

Jisung blinks several times. As soon as he parts his lips to say something, the words get stuck in his throat. “I… I don’t know.”

Beside him, Hyunjin shakes his head. “Me neither. No one knows what they do. We just know that the Ordinem can’t get their hands on the Gemmas.”

“For what reason?” Younghyun presses. When neither of the lieutenants reply, he shakes his head. “No one knows exactly _what_ the Gemmas do, but people all over the Universe have been desperately trying to discover their whereabouts, and collect them. I don’t think the Ordinem knows what the Gemmas do, either.”

He exhales and glances down at the frayed cover of the journal. “Recently, though, I’ve had my suspicions,” he says. “What I believe is that the poem that centres around the Prophecy, the _Tales of the Prophecy_ poem, isn’t complete.”

A hurricane has begun to swirl in Jisung’s head. He grimaces as he smooths his brow. “What do you mean by it being _incomplete_?” he wonders aloud.

“I think the poem’s missing a few lines,” Younghyun explains. “The only concrete evidence of the poem is its book back in the Museum of the Universe, located on Earth.” He sets down the journal to reveal his wristwatch. He scrolls through his gallery, before clicking on a photo and expanding it for the both of them to see. 

The holographic photograph reveals the heavy, tattered book laid in its glass display case, gleaming under the blinding lights. Sure enough, the most famous poem in existence is scribbled on the page in heavy ink. 

Younghyun points at the bottom of the page, where the paper is creased and torn. “You see how the bottom of the page is torn off?” he asks. “No one knows why that part of the page is missing. It might possibly suggest that the purpose of the Gemmas became unknown because that part of the poem is missing.”

“Maybe because the five rulers who invented the Gemmas in the first place became scared of their powers,” Hyunjin mutters. “And they were scared that someone like the Ordinem might abuse their powers for their own intentions.”

The writer snaps his fingers. “Precisely,” he says. “That’s… that’s why I ended my report like that. No one really knows what the five Gemmas will do if they’re gathered together. Sometimes, things should be left unearthed and unsearched. At least, in my belief.” He glances at the both of them with a sad smile. “If you two insist on finding that last Gemma, though, I can’t stop you. After all, we all know that the Ordinem is up to no good; if they get all five Gemmas together, the fury that they could unleash upon the Universe would be extraordinary, to say the least.”

Amazed, Jisung leans back onto the couch and exhales shakily. “That was way too much information to take in,” he winces. “We just wanted to ask a few questions, but we got an encyclopedia answer in return.”

Younghyun chuckles. “Sorry,” he apologises meekly. “I’m sorry I can’t tell you exactly where it lies. The thing is, if you both managed to decipher my whereabouts in my report online, I believe the both of you will be able to discover where the last Gemma truly lies.”

He snatches up the journal and hands it over to the both of them. “I trust you both with this journal,” he says. “It’s perhaps the most precious extension of my own being, so I hope you take good care of- _fuck_!”

All of a sudden, a crash resounds from the glass window. Startled, Jisung scrambles to his feet. One second, Younghyun is grinning at them widely, and the next, he’s crouched over the ground and screaming in pain. Jisung’s eyes flicker over to the glass windows, and he peers up at the skies. His heart almost leaps right out of his chest. “The Ordinem,” he whispers. “Why are they here?!”

Hyunjin cries, wrapping the writer in his arms. “Shit, are you okay?”

Younghyun hisses, wincing as he moves his arm. Lodged right into his upper arm is a bullet, and the two lieutenants gasp at the sight of it. Jisung hurriedly retrieves the journal and helps Younghyun up to his feet. They quickly dart over to the stairwell, hidden away from the glass window, and just in time — another gunshot ripples through their earshot, followed by another, and another.

“You both need to go, now,” Younghyun orders. 

“What about your arm?!” Hyunjin wails. “You’re injured-”

“-and you both will be injured too, if you don’t move _now_!” he shouts. “C’mere, and quick!”

The two of them race after Younghyun, who hobbles over to the wall next to the stairwell. To their surprise, he presses his wristwatch against a hidden lock on the wall, which swivels around to reveal an empty hallway.

From somewhere near the front door, a gunshot rings vibrantly outside. “Get inside here, now,” Younghyun urges. He practically shoves the two of them into the hallway, before sliding the door in the wall shut. In an instance, the overhead lights flicker on, and at the end of the hallway is a trapdoor on the carpeted floor. 

“This door will lead you to an underground tunnel,” Younghyun explains. He clutches onto his arm, the pain visibly on his contorted face. “I’ll hide here for a moment until they’re gone. In the meantime, take the tunnel, and it’ll lead you directly to the transit towers. That’s where you parked your ship, right?”

Jisung nods fervently. “When did you even have this secret passageway installed?” he whispers.

Younghyun laughs dryly. “You’ll find out soon enough,” he says mysteriously. He waves his arms dramatically at them, urging them to move. “Don’t worry about me; I won’t die from a bleeding arm. The both of you need to move, now.”

The two of them glance at each other. Jisung shoots one last longing look at Younghyun, his throat clogged with too many overwhelming emotions. “Thank you so much for everything, Mr Kang,” he blurts.

“Call me Younghyun,” he laughs, lifting the door that would lead them into the secret passagement. “And make sure to say hi to PJ and Honey for me, okay?”

Before Jisung can ask who the _hell_ is PJ and Honey, Hyunjin yanks the lieutenant down by the sleeve. “Come on!” he hisses. “We need to go, now!”

Jisung nods, gives a quick salute to Younghyun and leaps down into the secret tunnel. He follows Hyunjin quickly, hot on his heels, as they traipse along the dimly lit passageway. “How would the Ordinem know where we are?” he whispers, his voice ricocheting off of the walls. 

In front of him, Hyunjin sighs. “How should I know?” he retorts. “Your guess is as good as mine. Now let’s hope that they haven’t noticed our ship in the hangars yet.”

The walk down the tunnel seems to last forever. Anxiety fills Jisung's lungs, and he quickly whips his head back now and again, just to make sure they’re not being followed by anyone. As they hurry down the hallway, Jisung wipes his sweaty brow with the back of his palm. He tries to slow his panicking heart, but it only seems to beat louder and louder with every step he takes, until he can hear his pulse pounding in his ears.

After what seems like forever, they eventually reach a dead end. With his free hand, Jisung touches along the walls for some sort of a door, but to no avail. “Did that guy build a secret passageway with no exit?” he hisses. 

Hyunjin exhales shakily. His arm reaches out, and he lets out a surprised yelp as his fingers graze along a handle. He yanks at it, wrenching an overhead door open. Light spills into the dark passageway. Hyunjin glances over at Jisung. “C’mon, I’ll get you up first.”

On any other day, Jisung would’ve refused the other’s help. But with the threat of the Ordinem hot on their heels, Jisung doesn’t hesitate for even a second as he hurriedly steadies himself on Hyunjin’s palms. His arms flail out before landing on solid ground, and Hyunjin shakily lifts him up to the top.

Though slightly disoriented from their escape route, Jisung does a quick scan of their surroundings. Indeed, they’ve emerged in the hangars, their Golden Ace only a couple of metres away from them. He quickly stretches out an arm and helps to haul Hyunjin up. As soon as they’re up on their feet, they’re making a mad dash for their ship. 

Jisung almost trips over his feet as they stumble into the cockpit. He hides the journal in the glove compartment, whilst Hyunjin twists the keys into the keyhole. The engine roars to life, and in a blink of an eye, Hyunjin steers the ship out of the hangar and towards the transit station. They crash through the barriers, ignoring the shouts of the guards at the station, before zooming up and away from the ground. 

A gunshot resounds from behind him. Groaning, Jisung whips his head around to face at least a dozen Ordinem shooters zipping through the air. “We’ve got company!” he screeches. He scrambles for the laser cannons, flanking either side of the Golden Ace. With expert precision, he swings the cannons around and immediately opens fire.

In the cockpit, Hyunjin forces the Golden Ace out of the atmosphere of Ilsanis and towards outer space, dodging the gunshots from the Ordinem. Jisung grinds his teeth together as he continues to fire away at the Ordinem ships. Within seconds, a nearby shooter bursts into an explosion of metal and debris. 

Jisung rushes to the opposite side and grabs onto the laser cannon there. He aims at two Ordinem ships, and shoots both of them on his first try. Sweat pours from his scalp as he watches the Ordinem’s lasers shoot by the side windows of the Golden Ace in streaks of red. “Hyunjin!” he shrieks. “We have to jump!”

Shocked, Hyunjin jerks them to the right, barely missing a shot to the wing. “Jump?”

“Hyperspace!” Jisung screeches. He fires away at another Ordinem ship, blowing it up into nothing but a fiery ball of metal. “Go into hyperspace, now!”

When he receives no response, Jisung turns his head around to see Hyunjin frozen in his seat. “Hwang Hyunjin!” Jisung screams. “Hyperspace. Now!”

“I can’t do it!”

 _Fuck._ Jisung’s hands tremble as he grips the laser cannon controllers tighter in his curled fists. “Now is _not_ the time to crack under pressure!” he shouts. “You _can_ do it! Just do it, holy shit!”

He ducks over to the other side once more, gripping the controller in his hand and aiming at an opponent shooter that is definitely flying _too_ close for comfort. As he guns the ship down, Jisung tears his gaze away from the windows and glances at Hyunjin. To his horror, his companion remains in place, making no move to flick on the hyperdrive. 

Panic rises in his chest. Jisung exchanges fervent glances between the Ordinem and Hyunjin. Before he knows it, he shoots down one more ship, before leaping across the small space and landing clumsily into his pilot seat. “ _You_ are a fucking flight risk, Hwang,” Jisung curses.

With every ounce of energy left in his body, Jisung grasps onto the lever for the hyperdrive, before yanking it down all the way. A hum resounds in the air, and before either of them know it, an unimaginably strong force tugs the ship forward, forward, _forward._ The darkness of space disappears in a wisp, and within milliseconds, the Golden Ace is whisked away into hyperspace, up and away from the barrage of the Ordinem on their tail.

Jisung gasps and topples backwards onto his seat. He heaves to catch his breath, his lungs suddenly constricted of air as he bends over on his knees and pants heavily. _We were_ this _close to death,_ Jisung thinks. His brain feels absolutely fried from the adrenaline that had surged through his vessels. 

From beside him, Jisung hears Hyunjin begin to cry. Dumbfounded, Jisung peers up to see Hyunjin’s eyes well up with tears. “Fuck,” Hyunjin mutters, before wiping his eyes with the back of his palm. It’s too late — his tears have spilled from the corners of his eyes, trailing down his cheeks and chin.

To say Jisung is shocked would be the understatement of the year — no, the _century._ “Hwang Hyunjin,” Jisung gapes. “Why the hell are _you_ crying?”

Hyunjin doesn’t say anything. He sobs into his palms, and it’s the kind of ugly crying that has his chest heaving up and down in quick bursts of breaths. He leans back into his seat and cries hard, so hard, that if they hadn’t just escaped death, Jisung would’ve taken pity on him.

“Hyunjin,” Jisung growls. “You literally almost killed the both of us out there, and you’re _crying_?” 

“Shut up,” Hyunjin mumbles, his voice muffled by the sleeves of his shirt. “Just shut up.”

Flabbergasted, Jisung clicks his tongue in annoyance. This time, he's not going to hold back at all. He's tolerated enough of Hyunjin's shit. “ _Me_? Shut up? I just saved both of our asses out there, so the least you should do is give me an explanation on why you didn’t move a fucking inch when I _specifically_ told you to jump us into hyperspace-”

“-shut up!” Hyunjin screeches. He gasps for breath, his voice hoarse from screaming. When he lifts his face from his hands, his eyes are bloodshot and teary. His lower lip trembles. “Please just shut up,” he whispers.

For once, Jisung doesn’t know what else to say. He screws his eyes shut and desperately wishes that he’s asleep in a nightmare of a dream back in his barracks on Seoullis, rather than stuck in a ship floating in hyperspace, seated next to his crybaby of a companion. 

“Go to the back and cry your fucking lungs out,” Jisung hisses. “I really don’t want to see your face right now. Please.”

 _Or I might just strangle you to death,_ he adds in his head.

Hyunjin doesn’t need to be told twice. He stands on shaky legs, before shuffling the walk of shame to the door. The moment he’s out of sight, Jisung curses under his breath and bears his head down onto the wheel. 

As he listens to Hyunjin’s sobbing through the metal door, Jisung decides he can’t take it anymore and lifts his head from the wheel. Before he can head to the back to give Hyunjin a dressing down, though, his eyes catch something glinting in the light. Instinctively, his eyes land on the Munchlax figurine dangling from the ceiling. He frowns, before snatching up the figurine and turning it over in his palm. 

In a split second, his heartbeat accelerates once more. _No. Fuck no._

_It can’t be._

Jisung’s fingers tremble out of trepidation as they brush against the back of the figurine’s head, where the screws have loosened. He tugs on the back of the head. The screws snap, bouncing off of the dashboard and rolling to the ground. 

The back of the head reveals the hollow interior of the Munchlax. His suspicions are confirmed the moment he retrieves a small cube out of the inside of the figurine. A red light on the cube blinks furiously up at him.

_It can’t be._

The clogs in Jisung’s head clank into the right place.

_Kim Minji._

Fumbling for his wristwatch, Jisung directs the face of his watch towards the cube. He licks his dry lips and whispers, “Seoullis, identify this foreign object.”

The watch scans the object, and in mere seconds, a holographic web search is pulled up. Jisung’s breath is caught in his throat as his eyes skim through the words. _MINI TRACKER… INSTALLED BY SEOULLIS TECHNICIAN KIM MINJI… THE ORDINEM…_

“We were tracked by them,” Jisung whispers. 

With a shaking voice, Jisung instructs, “Seoullis, send this web search and a 360 scan of this tracker to Colonel Bang’s email in an encoded message. Tell him that Kim Minji has compromised us.” When his watch beeps, signalling the email has been sent, Jisung hurls the tracker to the ground and crushes it under the sole of his boot.

He doesn’t even realise the tears have gathered in his eyes, until something wet grazes the skin of his cheek. The tears fall in torrents, and Jisung screams into the empty cockpit. Anguished, Jisung buries his head in his hands, and screams once more. The frustration that had built up in his chest is unleashed with every scream he releases into the small space of the ship.

 _A failure,_ the voice in his head chants. _This entire mission is a failure._ Jisung laughs dryly to himself as he stares out into nothing. He leans back into his seat, his entire body suddenly feeling like jelly.

How were the both of them going to complete this operation if it had already failed in the first place?


	3. chapter three

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> not at how this is the longest chapter yet and it's mostly conversation and feelings lol i hope u enjoy tho!! i honestly had a hard time expressing the emotions in this chapter so pls let me know what u think of this chapter <33

“Han Jisungie.”

Jisung swivels around, lowering his bow and arrow. The other trainee cadets turn, too, to look at the new arrival in the archery room. Much to Jisung’s chagrin, Second Lieutenant Hwang saunters into the room, with a cocky aura surrounding him. As usual. “I told you to refer to me formally in front of the trainees, Hwang,” Jisung hisses at him when he passes by.

Wordlessly, Hyunjin plucks a spare bow from the rows lining the wall. Though archery is useless in fighting against the Ordinem in the skies, or even in hand-to-hand combat, the Motherboard still encourages cadets to learn archery, to sharpen their precision skills. Hyunjin snatches up an arrow and glances around the room.

“Are you giving them a demonstration right now?” he asks. 

Jisung nods, frowning. He’s not sure where the other’s going with this conversation. “Yes, I am. Why’re you here anyways? Too much free time on your hands?”

The second lieutenant winks at him. “As usual, Han,” he jokes. “Nah, I’m here to save them from seeing your pathetic demonstration.”

Fury begins to swirl in Jisung’s gut. He narrows his eyes at Hyunjin, a scowl on his lips. “I’d like to see you try and top me,” he snarls.

From amongst the trainees, Felix pokes his head out from where he’d been helping a trainee adjust their stance. His eyes widen and he makes a motion at Jisung, mouthing something along the lines of _CUT IT OUT, HAN! NOT HERE!_ but it’s already too late — Hyunjin’s eyes have gone cold, the same way they usually do every time Jisung challenges the former.

Confidence exudes from his every step as Hyunjin settles in front of the target. Near the centre of the bullseye is Han’s arrow. Hyunjin smirks. “Couldn’t even touch the centre, Han?” he taunts.

Jisung grits his teeth together. “You better watch it, Hwang.”

Hyunjin chortles. His laughter is spiteful in Jisung’s ears, and the latter rolls his eyes. “Alright, Han,” Hyunjin grins. “I’ll prove to you in three tries.”

 _I’d like to see you try,_ Jisung thinks to himself as he stands close to the sidelines. He watches as Hyunjin skilfully steadies the arrow, pulling the bowstring far back. As much as he hates him, Jisung has to admit that the guy’s got experience. His posture is perfect as he yanks the bowstring back. He closes one eyes, aims

And shoots right next to Jisung’s ear.

Jisung yelps, jumping as he hears the _whoosh!_ of the arrow whizzing right past his right ear. He snaps his head back so fast, his neck muscles almost cramp up. Lodged into the plastered wall behind him is Hyunjin’s arrow. Around him, some of the trainees nervously giggle at Jisung’s sudden shout, but are immediately silenced by the lieutenant’s sharp glare.

“Hwang Hyunjin,” Jisung says slowly. “Do you call that a remarkable demonstration by any means?”

Hyunjin shrugs. “You’re in my way,” he deadpans. “Can’t concentrate when your disgusting face is in my view.”

It takes every bit of energy in his fibres not to launch himself right at Hyunjin right now. Jisung inhales and exhales, shakily, before folding his arms over his chest. “An experienced archer should be able to hit the target under whatever circumstances,” he reprimands, voice dripping with venom. “When you’re faced by high pressure, or when you’re caught in a tight spot, you should be able to not only overcome the problem, but also solve-”

Before Jisung can finish his words, though, the next arrow sails over the air and slices right through Jisung’s wooden arrow. This time, he can’t stop his jaw from going slack. All the other trainees whoop with joy; Hyunjin grins as he basks in their amazement, before returning his attention to Jisung.

“Sorry, what were you saying?” Hyunjin asks, sarcastic. He bends down to take up another arrow and position it over his bowstring. “Think you should speak up a little. I’m afraid I can’t hear you down there.”

Just as he finishes his words, Hyunjin lets go of the bowstring. The arrow zips right through the air, and lands right on the bullseye. Before anyone can celebrate, though, Jisung’s already halfway across the space and wrapping a fist in Hyunjin’s uniform shirt. A gasp resounds from the onlookers as Jisung pushes Hyunjin backwards, until he hits the plastered wall. 

Jisung glares at Hyunjin, chest heaving. “You think you’re so smart,” he hisses. “I’m holding a class right here, and you walk in and turn this class into some little game show you’re hosting. You’re wasting my time and effort here.”

Instead of annoyance, a satisfied look flickers over Hyunjin’s face. “Aw, look at you,” he coos. “Admit it. You’re riled up because I managed to land a bullseye in front of all your trainees. Now, you’re going to have to continue to teach them, even though they know I’m better than you. Isn’t that the real reason why you’re angry?”

All Jisung can see is red. Before he knows it, he’s lifting his fist in the air, and as he’s about to land it against his unfairly perfect nose-

“Han! Han Jisung!”

Everything dissipates into nothing. Stunned, Jisung jolts awake, his eyelids flying open. He blinks, confused of where he is, until he recognises the interior of the ship. The crushed tracker on the ground. Hwang Hyunjin.

Hyunjin waves a hand over Jisung’s face, frowning. “You fell asleep,” he explains. “I had to pull ourselves out of hyperspace.”

Dazed from the dream, Jisung rubs the lethargy out of his eyes. That incident down at the archery room felt like forever ago, but he can still remember every detail of that day. It had taken Felix and a very, _very_ unamused Changbin to tear the both of them apart from each other before Jisung could land a punch on the guy’s perfect face. 

The memories from their mission, though, begin to rush into Jisung’s head like a broken dam. He sighs and rubs the ache beginning to form at the front of his head. “Right, okay. How long was I out for?”

Hesitant, Hyunjin replies, “At least an hour. I didn’t really want to wake you up, until I realised something wrong with our hyperdrive engine.”

“What?”

Jisung watches on as Hyunjin pulls up the ship’s vitals on their dashboard. “See here,” he says, pointing at a blinking red sign. “Our inertia dampers are damaged. I looked into it, and it suggests that they were broken after I pulled us out of hyperspace. Which means that if we had had to jump into hyperspace once more, we might have died from the intense acceleration.”

Hearing the words from Hyunjin alone already sends a chill down his spine. “Minji really sabotaged us, huh,” he mumbles. 

At this, Hyunjin lets out a confused sound. He notices the crushed metal on the floor. “What… what do you mean?”

Jisung sighs once more. “She planted a tracker in that Munchlax figurine, which explains why the Ordinem knew where we were. They probably followed us to Ilsanis, all the way to Younghyun’s house. It’s likely that she’s placed more traps in our ship, so we’ll need to make a stop, replace our inertia dampers and check the rest of the Golden Ace.”

He frowns, peering out at their surroundings. “Where are we, actually?” he mutters.

Hyunjin gulps. “We’re near the end of the Stella Primum,” he mumbles. “I just checked our location. The planet of Seongnam isn’t too far from here, only about an hour’s flight.”

“We’ll have to make a stop there, then,” Jisung instructs. 

He watches on as Hyunjin silently nods, punching in their destination into the GPS system and steering the Golden Ace towards the direction of Seongnam. His eyes are still puffy from crying, but the colour seems to have returned to his cheeks. He chews on the inside of his mouth as he navigates their way to the planet.

If their journey to Ilsanis had been tough, the stillness in the cockpit now is insufferable. To distract himself, Jisung fumbles around in the glove compartment to retrieve the journal. He wonders what on Seoullis could be written in the journal to have Younghyun call it ‘the most precious extension of his being’.

He flips over to the front cover. The cursive handwriting at the front is indecipherable, though, so he skips past it and instead begins to read the journal’s contents. To his bewilderment, though, he doesn’t understand a word that Younghyun has written. The cursive letters look somewhat familiar, but he can’t seem to put a finger on anything he’s scribbled down onto the tattered paper.

“I think this guy’s a scam,” Jisung mutters irately. He flicks through a few more pages, frustrated. “I don’t understand a word he’s written.”

Hyunjin glimpses up from the windows. His gaze falls upon the journal. As he scans through the words, he chuckles softly. “You don’t understand it,” he says, “because he’s written it all down in the ancient Seoullis language.”

Jisung scoffs. “So it’s still a scam! How are we going to translate this entire journal? It’s not like our wristwatch translators are going to translate them correctly.”

Something glitters in Hyunjin’s eyes. “Why use an artificial translator when you have me?” he laughs.

Confused, Jisung peers up at Hyunjin. “You?” When realisation dawns upon him, Jisung’s lips part into an ‘o’ shape. “You know how to read ancient Seoullis?”

“Yeah,” Hyunjin says. “My mum taught me when I was about six.” He smiles sheepishly at Jisung. Weird. For everything Hyunjin’s been better at Jisung for, he’s never shied away from claiming bragging rights over Jisung. Seeing this more abashed side of him startles the lieutenant, to the point where his heart even skips a beat.

Jisung almost smacks his face. He dismisses the thought from his head and hands the journal to Hyunjin. “I’ll get us to Seongnam, then,” he orders. “You can read through and find any clues of the Gemma’s location.”

Hyunjin dutifully takes up the journal and starts skimming through it. It takes a beat longer than necessary for Jisung to tear his gaze away from the other and instead fixate on the view before them. His throat feels tight, as if he were suffocating from the awkwardness lingering between the both of them. 

“Should I put something on?” he asks.

“What?”

Gesturing at the radio, Jisung glances over at Hyunjin. “A song or something?”

Hyunjin smiles. “Sure,” he replies, before returning his attention to the journal.

Jisung is definitely not one for small talk. Still, he flicks through a few built-in stations blasting cringy pop songs he constantly hears down in the practice rooms back on the Motherboard. (He blames Jeongin, who’s in charge of the music and _always_ relents to the trainee cadets’ song requests.) Eventually, he turns off the radio and instead rummages around in his rucksack at the foot of his seat. 

He produces a CD he’d brought along for the ride, and pops it into the CD player. He taps his fingers against the controller as he waits for the song to play. When the first few notes begin to play, he glimpses over at Hyunjin, wondering if the song will lift at least a bit of the tension in the air. 

Illuminated by the overhead lights, Jisung has to sadly admit that Hyunjin does look good. His post-crying face somehow still looks alright, angelic even, with the shadows shading his jawline and nose. 

Jisung’s mind begins to drift to their argument earlier. What could’ve made Hyunjin suddenly falter, let alone shut down altogether in the midst of the most treacherous of situations? The colonel’s words begin to play back in his head. _Though it’s not especially conspicuous, I’ve seen how he can crack under immense pressure, which is what this mission entails._

_I’ve actually paired you up with him to help him with that factor as well._

Even if Jisung hates the guy’s guts, he can’t help but feel guilty. After all, he had ultimately agreed that he’d keep the colonel’s words; instead of helping him, Jisung’s pretty sure he just traumatised him further.

Something doesn’t settle well in his gut, though. If Hyunjin had handled the gunshot and the dark passageway, why hadn’t he been able to jump them into hyperspace?

“This song is nice.” Jisung is tugged out of his thoughts at the sound of Hyunjin’s voice. Their eyes meet, and Jisung’s voice somehow dies in his throat. 

It takes him a moment to remember that the song he’d put into the player is still playing in the background. “Right,” Jisung nods jerkily. He forces himself to stare out the window. “Picked by yours truly, after all.”

Hyunjin chuckles. Surprisingly enough, there lies no hint of spite in his laughter, and that itself calms Jisung down a little. “Anyways, I found something interesting,” he begins. “I’ll translate this part that he’s written down.”

He clears his throat, and begins to read. “ _A curse has fallen down upon this place. A curse indecipherable to my human mind and soul has fallen down upon this place. A curse only comprehensible to the long-lived here has fallen down upon this place. A curse unheard of, unseen of, by the entirety of its expanding Universe, has long since fallen down upon this place._ ”

“Curse,” Jisung echoes. “He’s talking about the Gemma, right? The one with the curse once told?”

When there’s no response, Jisung cocks his head sideways to see the other engrossed in the journal entry. “I don’t think he’s talking about the Gemma,” Hyunjin murmurs. “There’s a strong emphasis of this curse having fallen upon a _place_. Maybe he’s describing the location of the Gemma.”

A whirlwind begins to take a hold of Jisung’s head. “A curse unheard of, unseen of, by the entirety of its expanding Universe,” he recites. “Whatever this curse is, perhaps that’s why no one has ever found it yet.”

“Probably,” Hyunjin hums. “Wait, there’s more: _He tells me I am forbidden to speak of this place, lest the curse be passed upon myself. And yet, he gifts me this book to speak of this place, for the curse will remain in this place should I keep my lips sealed._ ”

As Jisung rounds the Golden Ace around the edge of a passing meteor chunk, he mulls over the cryptic words. “That’s why he said he couldn’t tell us anything verbally,” he wonders aloud. “This curse is… transmissible.”

“Seems so… Let me skip to the last page and see what else he has to say,” Hyunjin says. He continues reading aloud. “ _I think I’ve discovered the serenity that comes with this cursed place, hidden away from the eyes and minds of the rest of the Universe. Not for long does this happiness consume me — he tells me that I must not remain long — a peek of the gem, and I must disappear. Come to think of it, it disappoints me, when he is a gem I have discovered, hidden away from the eyes and minds of the rest of the Universe, except for mine._ ”

The last few words hang heavy in the air. Jisung swallows, slowly realising the weight of Younghyun’s words. “How is this supposed to help us figure out where the Gemma is?” he wonders aloud. “All we know is that he met someone, saw the Gemma, and fell in love?”

“ _Have I not met someone like him, I believe it would have been a pity, but how was I to know?_ _Every day I have spent in this cursed place, I have spent it with him. Only he has been my only contact in this cursed place. Never once will he leave my memories, my mind, my soul. I hear he shall hold onto the gem for as long as he lives, and with that, he holds my heart as well. Shall he live forever in peace._ ”

Jisung feels like smacking his face against the dashboard. “We went all the way to Ilsanis for a sappy prepubescent’s journal about his first love?” he blurts in disbelief. “I’m going to go bonkers-”

And then, _Seoullis and stars,_ Hyunjin squeaks so loudly that the Golden Ace jerks shakily with the flick of the controller in Jisung's hand. “Holy shit,” Hyunjin gasps. “Shit, shit, shit! I discovered it!”

“What, that the man we met is lonely as fuck-”

“-I skimmed through the rest of the pages before the last page,” Hyunjin interrupts. The exhilaration is evident enough on his face, his cheeks flushed with crimson red. “As far as I know, all I can see are photo clippings, clipped documents and some random scribbles and doodles.

“And if you think about it, the tone of his message on the last page is different from the first few lines I read to you,” Hyunjin continues. “And here’s the thing: the first letter of each sentence on the last page spells out something.”

At this, Jisung’s eyes widen. “What does it spell?”

Hyunjin licks his lips and poises his finger over the words. “I-N-C-H-E-O-N-I-S. Incheonis.” He gasps, running a hand through his hair out of half-amazement, half-disbelief. “The Gemma is on the planet of Incheonis!”

Incheonis? Jisung frowns, racking his brain for any memories of a planet tucked away in his knowledge bank, but nothing comes to mind. “Why does it seem like I’ve never heard of this place before?” he wonders.

“Let’s think about it,” Hyunjin says, setting the journal down. “This journal is written entirely in the ancient language of Seoullis, when he clearly knows how to speak and write the modern language. A curse has fallen upon this place, a curse that has made it hidden away from the rest of the Universe. If this place is Incheonis, and if Incheonis is hidden away, then it’d only make sense that it doesn’t exist.”

A moment passes. “What?”

“I mean it probably doesn’t exist on our maps _today_ ,” Hyunjin explains. A glimmer of something akin to mischief flits across his eyes. “But there’s a chance that it _does_ exist — on ancient maps.”

Doubt begins to settle down in Jisung’s heart. Perhaps this is all a bit too much of a coincidence to be true. This clue that they’ve unearthed in his journal isn’t even a strong one at that. Yet, Jisung can’t seem to find the words to say anything to reject Hyunjin’s proposition, not when the latter is grinning up at him… like that. 

Like he’s hung all the stars in the galaxy.

Jisung sighs, before tapping on the face of his wristwatch. “Seoullis, pull up a map of the Stella Primum,” he instructs. “A map from a hundred years ago.”

Within seconds, a holographic map bursts into view, pixels circling around the two of them. Jisung cranes his neck to cast furtive glances at all sides of the map, and so does Hyunjin. The planets have been condensed to nothing but the most miniscule of dots. Jisung squints at each of them, desperately searching for Incheonis, but to no avail.

“Maybe it’s not in this galaxy,” Hyunjin points out.

“Hyunjin,” Jisung gulps, “there’s a hundred billion galaxies in this Universe. How are we going to find out where Incheonis lies?”

Wordlessly, Hyunjin begins flicking through the journal once more. As he searches for any other clues, Jisung scans the rest of the map, zooming in on several collections of planets and solar systems. He notices the date stamped at the top of the map, and frowns. “Say,” Jisung mutters, “when and where was the poem created?”

“You mean the _Tales of the Prophecy_ poem?” Hyunjin says. “If I remember correctly, it dates back to 2190 AE? About 300 years ago, in our galaxy.”

As the thoughts in Jisung’s head begin to spiral, adrenaline starts coursing through his veins faster. “Seoullis,” he says, his voice trembling a little. _Please make this work, please make this work._ “Pull up a map of the Stella Primum from 300 years ago.”

There’s a momentary silence, before the map flickers and changes before his eyes. In an instance, Jisung knows this map is clearly different: several planets are missing. A solar system has vanished. And then he sees it — a planet, smack dab in the middle of nowhere, blinking furiously back at him.

Incheonis.

“It’s there,” Jisung murmurs. “It’s really there.”

Surprised, Hyunjin scrambles from his seat and wanders into the centre of the holographic map. His finger traces along the floating speck of pixels, grinning widely. “That’s our destination,” he breathes. He turns to look down at Jisung, and for a while, everything is okay. For a while, they forget about the tension between them, the arguments and the endless fights between them, and they _exist._

When they both become conscious of the time spent in silence, though, Jisung is the first to glance away and clear his throat. He flicks the holographic map off and taps his fingers against the controller. “That’s our destination for tomorrow,” he says. He tries to keep his voice steely, cold. “For now, we need to land in Seongnam.”

A discovery, even a paramount discovery at that, isn’t going to mend their broken patches and sew up their torn seams, and the both of them know that. For the rest of the journey, Jisung pretends he’s alone in the Golden Ace, with the music streaming from the speakers being the only resonance amidst the stifling quiet.

_Blind to reason, lose the sight of what's to come_

_Below or what's above_

_Fall in the rain, keeping the sun below us_

_Set away your hate_

✴

Unlike Seoullis or Ilsanis, Seongnam offers a quieter greeting. Though not as advanced as the bustling planet they’d just come from, Jisung thinks it’s a blessing in disguise. It’s unlikely that Ordinem troops would be so far out on the edge of the galaxy, and even if they were, the tracker was now broken. 

They drop the Golden Ace off at a local mechanic’s, who can’t seem to stop asking a gazillion questions at the two lieutenants about the ship. Jisung simply pays the mechanic double the price to shut them up, and also to replace their inertia dampers and check on their other vitals. With that done, he and Hyunjin take off in search of the nearest motel to rest for the night.

After a half hour’s walk through the main city, Hyunjin points at a nearby motel across the street from them. “What about there?” he asks. The neon sign outside flashes _ROOMS AVAILABLE!!!_ in blinding lights, and Jisung tries not to wince at the run-down condition of it. He brushes a hand against the flaking paint as the both of them enter the motel and head to the lobby.

Much to their surprise, the receptionist isn’t human. Jisung finds it slightly weird to know that they would run into an android in Seongnam of all places; hell, they don’t even have automatic sliding doors here. “Welcome to Midnight Motel,” the android grins. “I’m Gabrielle! How may I help you?”

Hyunjin smiles warmly. “Hi, we just need a room for the night,” he says, sliding their IDs across the counter. “And the sign outside says you guys have rooms available.”

At this, Gabrielle laughs. To be frank, Jisung probably shouldn’t call Gabrielle an android — a humanoid would be more fitting. He’s not one for advancing technology, so it’s still stunning to see how humanlike Gabrielle is. If he hadn’t seen the humanoid’s badge glinting with the words _GABRIELLE/ANDROID,_ he would’ve believed them to be human.

“Oh, sorry about that,” Gabrielle grins. There’s something a little disconcerting about their grin. If Jisung would’ve known better, he would’ve run right out of the motel and down the street, but it was too late. “We can’t exactly turn off specific letters on the sign. We only have one room left, but that’s fine by the both of you, right?"

Before Jisung can protest, Hyunjin nods. “Sure,” he answers, already retrieving his wallet to pay for their room. 

“There’s one bathroom, and we offer continental breakfast in the morning,” Gabrielle explains. They click something on the computer, before producing a key from the drawers. “Floor 5, room 501. Hope you both enjoy your stay!”

Hyunjin offers the receptionist a wave. Jisung bows stiffly, before walking off towards the elevators. “Yah,” he hisses. “We could’ve walked on for a bit longer, you know. We could find a place with at least two rooms still available.”

“Jisung,” Hyunjin says, the expression on his face stoic. “I’m exhausted, and I just need a bed and food. As long as there’s two beds and a decent bathroom, I’m good to go. If you want, you can go ahead and find somewhere else to stay. It’s fine by me.”

The fight leaves Jisung’s body. Granted, he’s tired as well, and he definitely doesn’t want to waste his last surge of energy in arguing with his companion. He grunts, stomps into the elevator and punches their floor number, all the while ignoring the small smirk that forms on Hyunjin’s lips.

When they throw the door open to reveal their room, though, it’s an entirely different affair.

Jisung almost chokes on air. “Uh…” He glances around the room, equipped with two armchairs, a coffee table, a mini television and the door to the bathroom… 

And a queen-sized bed. 

“Oh,” Hyunjin blinks. He stops dead in his tracks. 

Something flashes in Jisung’s memory, a memory of Felix teasing him whilst they’re eating dinner together the night after the incident down in the archery room. He has to bite down on his lower lip to prevent the sigh from escaping his throat. 

(“Imagine this,” Felix gushed, stabbing his sausage roll with his fork and waving it around in the air. “I bet what the both of you need is some alone time together. No one else around. Just the both of you, and a single bed. The both of you are forced to share the bed. BAM! Enemies turned lovers, 500k, slow burn. PROBLEM SOLVED!”)

“Is this going to bother you?” Hyunjin asks, his voice dropped to a whisper.

Jisung forces himself to snort, though it comes out more like a croak of a frog. “No, no, definitely not,” he huffs. He flings his rucksack onto the bed, before flopping down upon the mattress. “Why would I be bothered? This bed is heavenly.”

It’s clear that Hyunjin doesn’t believe him, but the former doesn’t push it further. “Anyways, dibs on the shower,” he announces. Jisung has half a mind to scramble to his feet and race for a shower first, but Hyunjin’s already disappeared into the bathroom. Sighing, he rolls his head back down onto the mattress and allows the cramped muscles in his back to stretch out.

As he waits, he orders some delivery food from a nearby restaurant. He doesn’t know what to get for Hyunjin, though, so he decides to just order a set meal that the both of them can share out later. Once he’s done ordering, he scrolls through his messages. His eyes light up when he notices several messages.

**lixie** : WOWWW MR HOTSHOT DECIDES TO RUN AWAY ON A MISSION WITH HIS MOST HATED RIVAL!!!!!! FEELS LIKE SMTG OUT OF A MOVIE!!!! IS THIS FR?????? 

**lixie** : OK BUT LIKE FR PLS DON’T PUNCH HYUNJIN!!! IM NOT THERE TO HELP SAVE HIM FROM YOUR smol punching energy >:))))))

 **lixie** : okok jk stay safe ok! idk where u guys are at but all the best yo ^_____^

**baby bread** : oi don’t do anything stupid ok

 **baby bread** : also felix won’t stop talking about how u and hyunjin are going to settle whatever sexual tension between u two. like???? does he actually think yall gonna do the do onboard???

 **baby bread** : unless…? 

Jisung snorts and sends quick replies to the both of them, reassuring Felix that they’ll stay safe and agreeing with Jeongin on not ‘doing the do’ aboard the Golden Ace (what do his friends even think of him?) He’s about to take a quick nap when his news feed updates before his eyes. His argument with Hyunjin earlier on their journey to Ilsanis pops to mind. 

He sneaks a glance at the bathroom door, still tightly shut. He decides Hyunjin has no right to force him _not_ to read the news, and clicks over to the daily news report. The top report catches his eye, and he taps on it. The holographic words appear in the dingy air.

_10-Year-Death Anniversary of a Heroic Captain: Capt. Hwang Hyunsik_

_Today marks the exact day that Capt. Hwang Hyunsik of the Motherboard was confirmed dead, 10 years ago. The diligent captain was known to be not only a real ace shooter who earned himself the nickname ‘The One-Shot Hotshot’, but also a dedicated captain who took great care of his fellow cadets._

_Click_ _here_ _to read about the history of his personal life._

_Like most heroes, Hwang left our Universe in the midst of a fiery battle with the Ordinem, when he and his close colleagues were returning from a distant planet on a mission. Despite putting up a fierce fight, they were outnumbered, and one by one they jumped into hyperspace. However, when Hwang jumped into hyperspace, his hyperdrive was rusty from overuse and poor maintenance, and when his colleagues arrived back at the Motherboard, Hwang was nowhere to be found._

_After a galaxy-wide search was conducted, Hwang was found 15 days later on the edge of the Stella Primum amidst the rubble of his ship. The conditions suggested that the hyperdrive had malfunctioned, but no other details of his death can be deciphered from the debris._

_Hwang will always be remembered in our hearts as a trusty captain, who never failed to ensure the safety of his crew and the success of any operation he conducted. He is succeeded by his wife, Lee Yoonah and son, Hwang Hyunjin-_

The words disappear from view, and all of a sudden, Jisung’s back is shoved down against the mattress. His eyes flick up to see Hyunjin, clothed in loose-fitting clothes, with his hair a dripping mess atop his head. His face is contorted into absolute fury, and his hand presses down hard on Jisung’s chest. “I told you not to read the news,” he growls. “I _told_ you.”

“You’re not the boss of me,” Jisung tries to bite back, but his voice is weak, his head spinning way too fast. The dots in his head begin to connect: the photo album. The dejected look on Hyunjin’s face. Their argument. How could he have been so stupid? 

Hyunjin scoffs. He’s clambered onto Jisung’s lap, both hands caging Jisung against the mattress. His breaths are heavy, laboured. “I told you not to do it,” he whispers. His voice sounds broken, as if his throat were choked with impending tears, and it shatters something in Jisung’s chest. “I told you not to do it, I practically _begged_ you, and yet you still did it. Why?”

No words rise up to Jisung’s lips. He can only stare up at Hyunjin, bewildered, his eyes blown wide with astonishment. “I’m… I’m sorry. I didn’t know that-”

“-you didn’t know that I was the son of the greatest shooter on the Motherboard of all time,” Hyunjin finishes. His eyes flit to the side, as if looking at Jisung for any longer would pain him beyond belief. “Of course you of all people didn’t know. Everyone else knows, except _you_.”

Confusion swirls in Jisung’s mind. He slowly comes to realise their awkward position right now, and he squirms underneath Hyunjin’s grasp. His ears burn in embarrassment. “Can you get off of me? Please?” he asks.

Hyunjin hesitates for a moment, before slipping off of the other’s lap. He snatches up the hand towel draped over the edge of the bed and sighs, not daring to meet Jisung’s gaze. “The moment I stepped into the bathroom, I already suspected you’d see the news,” he mutters. The pain of betrayal drips from his voice, and it makes Jisung shrink back smaller. “I really, _really_ didn’t want you to know.”

“Why?”

Jisung waits for the other to turn around, his eyes glassed over. He doesn’t expect an explanation, though, so when Hyunjin begins speaking, it’s a surprise to Jisung. “When I was first transferred to Seoullis from the Ilsanis branch, everyone knew. Everyone knew who I was: the only son of the most talented ace shooter of the Motherboard. Everyone already _thought_ they knew who I was, what capabilities I possessed. They thought I would be just as great as him. I had nothing to prove to them, I just had to _exist_ there. I could miss aim on a target, I could royally fuck up in the middle of the battlefield, and no one would scold me unlike how’d they punish the other cadets, because they thought I was someone… someone prestigious. Someone untouchable. Just because of whose son I was.

“So when you didn’t recognise me,” Hyunjin laughs humourlessly, “I thought it was a stroke of luck. I thought this was the perfect opportunity for me to prove myself here, to prove that I’m _worthy_ here, without the name of my father being the foundation of my existence. And then you were an absolute asshole to me.”

He pauses to take a shaky breath. “From that day on, I knew I didn’t want you to find out who I was, or who my father was. If you knew, then you’d treat me differently. Nicer. Kinder. The same fake shit recycled over and over again. You wouldn’t treat me like the asshole you’ve been to me for the past half year. As much as I hate arguing with you, I’d rather choose that over you pretending to be nice to me just because of whose son I was.”

The realisation crashes over Jisung in a wave, drenching him, drowning him alive. It burns to part his lips and speak. “Hyunjin,” he gulps. “I’m sorry.”

“For what?” In a whiplash, Hyunjin’s expression conforms again. He glares at Jisung with narrowed eyes, the corner of his lips turned down in a scowl. “For reading the news when you promised me you wouldn’t? Or for being an asshole to me? Or for treating me so badly even though I’m the son of Hwang Hyunsik? Which one?”

Jisung teeters on the fence between the right and the wrong, wondering whether to pitch forth or back. In a seesaw motion, he balances himself atop the fence dangerously. “For… for everything,” he whispers. “I’m sorry.”

Silence hangs over them gloomily. Finally, Hyunjin shatters the silence. He chuckles dryly to himself before returning to towel off his hair. “This is exactly as I feared,” he spits. He doesn’t dare to look at Jisung at all. “I don’t need it. Your pity, your apologies, your everything. I don’t need it, because I _know_ you wouldn’t be saying sorry to me if you just _didn’t reading the fucking news._ ”

As Hyunjin lays down on the bed with his back facing him, Jisung feels tears prick the back of his eyes. He slides off of the mattress quietly, turning on his heel to head to the bathroom. Once he’s clicked the door shut, he lets the burning tears wash out the frustration in his gut. _Guess who just royally fucked up, huh?_ he thinks to himself.

Back on the Golden Ace, after Hyunjin had refused to jump them into hyperspace, Jisung thought they would be doomed for the rest of the journey, all because of the Ordinem, all because of Kim Minji, and all because of Hwang Hyunjin. 

Now, with the Gemma so close within their reach, their mission is crumbling into a million pieces, and now, it was all because of _Han Jisung._

✴

When Jisung returns to the bedroom after his shower, the delivery food is sat on the coffee table, untouched. He guesses Hyunjin must’ve answered the door for them. Jisung musters up the courage to walk around the bed to face the other, only to find him already fast asleep. 

He doesn’t know what to do, which is a first — Han Jisung always knows what to do, what to say. Right now, right here, his mind has drawn a line. His trembling hand reaches out to tentatively brush against Hyunjin’s shoulder. “Hyunjin,” he whispers. “You should eat something.”

Hyunjin groans, rolling over onto his back. His eyelids remain shut. 

Sighing, Jisung walks over to the coffee table and eats his share first. As he does so, his eyes naturally inch closer to where Hyunjin is laid across the bed. His quiet breathing is punctuated by croaky grunts, and it takes much effort for him not to laugh out loud. 

He supposes it’s good that Hyunjin’s asleep, too — after all, it gives him some time and space for himself to think. Jisung chews over the other’s words earlier. Each one had stung, a bullet aimed right at his chest, but at the same time, Jisung is to blame. He’d been so strung up on Hyunjin, irritated by his mere presence and aggravated by his cockiness, when it had all been an act to keep up his image. 

All the times that Hyunjin had proved he was better, Jisung had had to suppress the aching urge to prove _he_ was even better, faster, stronger. Now, he doesn’t even know how to feel. Hyunjin had made it clear that he didn’t want the lieutenant’s pity at all. 

The question is: What should he do now?

Jisung hoovers up the last of his food (at least the Korean food on Seongnam is pretty decent, he supposes) and wraps the remaining food up for Hyunjin to eat later. The exhaustion of the day has already sunk deep into his bones, so by the time he reaches the bed, he doesn’t even bat an eyelash at the fact that he’s going to be sharing the same bed with his sworn enemy, his reluctant companion. 

Now that all the information has begun to sink in, Jisung’s a little surprised himself that he hadn’t made the connection at all. After all, he’s heard of Hyunjin’s dad all the time back in middle school. Then again, he’d never known his actual name, since everyone preferred referring to him as the ‘One-Shot Hotshot’. How could he have been so oblivious to how everyone was instantly drawn to Hyunjin, too? His juniors and seniors alike always flocked to him like he was some kind of prestigious prize. With this information in his hand, Jisung supposes he’s not that far off. 

If Jisung thinks even harder, he realises that he doesn’t know Hyunjin much at all. Between the petty fights and the awkward small talk, all he knows now is his deceased father and the reasons behind his conceited acts. Is that where he should begin? Asking more about Hyunjin’s story?

Would Hyunjin even give him a second chance to start over? Jisung smothers the laughter that almost erupts from his lungs. And then what? Would they forget whatever tension had brewed between the both of them? Would they start over as two lieutenants, two humans, and nothing more than that?

Even the thought of it seems bizarre to Jisung. Instead, he opts to turn over on his side and gaze at the crease in Hyunjin’s brow. Opposite the bed, the curtains are drawn aside. The feeble moonlight shines down upon the both of them, casting long shadows on Hyunjin’s face. In this state of mind, he looks peaceful. His eyelashes graze the smooth skin under his eyelids. His lips are parted as he snores breathily. 

All this time, Jisung had thought that everyone fell head over heels for the second lieutenant because of his alluring looks. Coupled with the fact that he now knew who the other’s father was, Jisung suspects that attraction might not have been the main factor at all. He can’t seem to imagine what it would feel like to exist in the shadow of a deceased relative everywhere he went. No matter how much Jisung despises the mere sight of him, he can’t help the guilt gnawing away at his chest. 

His mind is too fuzzy, though, to think too hard of how he’ll approach Hyunjin once dawn is upon them. Thus, in this manner, his eyelids begin to slide shut. 

The last thing he sees, before sleep takes over, is the soft upward curve of the corner of Hyunjin’s lips.

✴

The next morning, he’s woken up by a pillow being mauled against his cheek, followed by a rather gruff “Get up”.

Jisung groans, rubbing his eyes as he drinks in the sight of the dilapidated motel room — as well as a very, very bare back. Confused, he squints a little more as the defined muscles under the smooth skin ripple and undulate. His face burns considerably when the skin disappears under the fabric of Hyunjin’s shirt, and he tears his eyes away.

Oblivious to his ogling, Hyunjin turns around to face his companion. “Come on,” he persists. “It’s daylight already. It’s going to take us some time to reach Incheonis.”At this, memories of yesterday night rush back to Jisung’s mind. He nods, sliding off of the bed and groggily trudging towards the bathroom. 

The restraint the both of them have on themselves is obvious. Neither of them exchange a word, even as they check out of the motel, or even as they pick up the Golden Ace from the mechanic’s, or even as Jisung punches in the destination for Incheonis and Hyunjin sets the ship’s engine roaring alive once more.

The only upside is that Jisung doesn’t have to face the fear of speaking to Hyunjin, at least for now.

As he pops some gum into his mouth to smack on, he hears Hyunjin fumbling with the hem of his shirt. “Forget what I said last night,” Hyunjin croaks, his voice hoarse from disuse over the past two hours. 

Jisung cocks his head sideways, as if he can’t believe his ears. “What?”

“Forget what I said last night,” Hyunjin repeats. “Just pretend last night didn’t happen. I don’t want whatever happened to jeopardise our mission, okay?”

Jisung swallows down the ball of nerves caught in his throat. “Okay,” he replies without a moment of hesitation. “Okay, yeah. Sure.”

Yet, how could they both forget? To Jisung, it seems impossible to forget how Hyunjin had knocked him down onto his back and stared at him as if his heart had been broken. The string that ties the both of them together now is only their mission to find the last Gemma. Even then, the string is fraying, on the verge of snapping apart. One wrong move, and this mission, and whatever left of their working relationship, would smoulder into nothing but ashes and failure.

The journey to Incheonis is four hours, but it feels like an agonising four days. Here and there, they _do_ exchange a few words, albeit random questions and out-of-topic comments. (“Can we switch the song?” “What flavour is your gum?” “I think we just passed a constellation?”) Jisung can’t decide whether he wants a hole to open up and swallow him whole, or he wants to jump out of this stuffy ship and scream into the wilderness.

“Is that it?” Hyunjin quizzes, pointing at a speck of white in the distance. 

“Seems so,” Jisung says. He cranes his neck out in a desperate attempt to take a closer look. “Can’t tell for sure. We’ll know when we land, though."

As they maneuver the ship closer to the planet, Jisung can’t seem to believe his eyes. A planet that had, for some reason or another, been erased out of their maps today, is now gleaming back up at them, basking in its existence. Jisung grips the controller until his knuckles turn bone white. He braces himself as they begin to lower the ship closer to the surface of the planet.

Surprisingly enough, the transit stop seems normal enough. After showing their official documents and identity cards, the Golden Ace is waved towards the visitor’s hangars. Jisung arches an eyebrow at the lack of other ships in the hangar. “That’s weird,” he mutters. “There’s actually no one else around.”

As soon as they turn the engine off, Hyunjin stuffs the journal into his rucksack and slings it over his shoulder. “We should get going, then,” he says.

The both of them hop off of the Golden Ace onto solid ground and stretch out their cramped muscles. As they exit the hangars, they’re greeted by barren land. No houses, no shops, no buildings stretch out across the expanse of area, as far as the eyes can see. The only mark of civilisation there seems to be is a two-way road extending past their peripheral vision. Off the side is a pathetically small parking lot with a lopsided sign reading _CARS FOR RENT!!!!! FOLLOW ROAD TO CIVILISATION!!!!!!!!! DON’T STAY FOR TOO LONG TQ_

“Well, that’s welcoming,” Jisung mutters. He supposes this is what a planet abandoned by the Universal League of Mapmakers would look like — deserted, devoid of life, jilted by its rulers. How were they supposed to find the last Gemma _here_ of all places? “I think we might have used up all our luck finding Younghyun back in Ilsanis.”

Hyunjin shrugs. “There’s only one way to find out.”

Once they’ve rented a car (a sweet junk of a convertible for only a couple of Seoullis coins. Jisung can’t help but think it’s too big of a steal) and managed to rev the engine alive, Hyunjin steers them out of the parking lot and onto the vacant road. Admittedly, it’s a bumpy journey, what with the beat-up tyres that grind against asphalt. 

A soft breeze drifts past Jisung’s overgrown hair, brushing strands against his eyes. He tucks them away, allowing his eyelids to slide shut as he relishes in the quiet of it all. The tranquility isn’t quite as haunting as he’d expected an abandoned planet would offer; instead, it calms his bouncing nerves as he leans back against the leather cushion, the stuffing peeking out of its torn seams.

Hyunjin taps his fingers against the wheel, humming to an invisible tune. In that space in time, neither of them have to say anything. They simply take in the sight of miles of nothingness, passing by acre after acre of beige ground. 

After they whiz past a road sign flashing with the words _WELCOME TO INCHEONIS_ , little remnants of life begin to show along the roads. The convertible passes by terrace houses and shops that sporadically appear on either side of the streets. Much further ahead, Jisung can see the peaks of skyscrapers looming over their presence, and he doesn’t make any effort to hide the surprise from his face.

The tiredness evaporates from his body the moment something catches the corner of his eyes. His eyes open wide as they pass by someone — or something. Or someone. “Did I just see…” He gulps. “...A Lasat?”

“A _what_ now?” Hyunjin asks, but he doesn’t need a reply. A group of Lasats lumber down the street, distinctive by their height as they towered over strolling humans. “Holy shit.”

“Holy shit indeed,” Jisung breathes. 

The further on they drive, the more he realises what sort of planet they’ve descended upon. Incheonis is simply no other planet. They’ve long left their bustling municipalities back in Seoullis and Ilsanis, inhabited by humans, and _only_ humans. Here, as they drift past the infrastructure raised on the foundation of this abandoned planet, Jisung is enraptured by the sights of aliens of all species roaming the streets, aliens he’s only ever seen in the confines of his textbooks and documentaries.

“A Triss… A Togruta…” Jisung rattles off names of species he hasn’t said since the days of his high school years. “There’s so many different species out here.”

“And they’re all so…” Hyunjin chuckles. “Civil.”

It comes as no surprise that if you planted too many different alien species together on one planet, too different from each other to settle on a middle ground, chaos would ensue. It wasn’t too odd to see a humanoid pass them by, but seeing at least a dozen different species makes Jisung’s head spin crazily.

“Where do we even start first?” Jisung wonders. He scrutinises the swirling letters of the signs overhead their shoplots, but none of them make sense to him. It dawns upon him that all the words are scrawled in ancient languages — and not just the ancient language of Seoullis. “I don’t understand any of these places.”

Out of the blue, Hyunjin screeches the convertible to a halt by the side of the road, startling a human couple that had been strolling by on the cobblestone pavement. “Seoullis and stars, warn a man next time!” Jisung squeaks. His fingers grip tight onto the dashboard as he tries to catch his breath. 

Hyunjin looks too addled to notice Jisung, though. Beside him, he points a shaky finger at a bar across the road. “There,” he whispers. 

Across the top of the glass doorway, the cursive lettering spells out _Maledictum._ “What exactly makes you believe our lead is there?” Jisung quizzes.

His companion twists around in his seat and grins at Jisung for what seems like the first time in forever. The smile even reaches his crescent eyes. “ _Maledictum._ That’s Latin for curse.”

A light bulb flickers off in Jisung’s head. “Wow, how many languages do you even know?” he chortles, already unbuckling his seatbelt. Hyunjin follows suit, hauling up his rucksack and slamming the door of the convertible shut. There doesn’t seem to be any parking etiquette around here, so they leave the car by the street and begin to make their way towards the bar. 

Hyunjin smirks. “Enough for us to find the last Gemma,” he says.

✴

The moment Hyunjin swings the door to _Maledictum_ open, though, Jisung regrets even thinking of coming here in the first place.

The bar is nothing similar to the bars back in Seoullis, or even that in Ilsanis. The dimly lit room is jam packed with too many people. The air is suffocated by the stench of sweat and smoke and alcohol. As he stumbles into the bar after Hyunjin, his eyes take a beat too long to process the scene before him: people dancing on a makeshift dance floor, aliens sipping beer out of huge steins, both humans and aliens gambling in the darker corners of the bar. Deep laughter resonates from one end of the room, sending a chill down his spine.

He feels his lungs seemingly constrict, depriving him of air. He tucks his trembling hands into the pockets of his jacket and keeps his head low. Even so, he feels a dozen pairs of eyes burning holes into him as he follows closely behind Hyunjin. 

As they weave their way through the crowd, Hyunjin apologises in hushed whispers whenever they bump into someone. Some throw dirty looks at the both of them, others stare at them in awe. After all, the both of them don’t seem to fit in at all — for one, they’re wearing far too many clothes.

Jisung has never felt more relieved seeing a bar counter. He feels his body relax the moment he slides into one of the booths next to Hyunjin, away from the daunting crowd in the centre of the room. “How are we supposed to just find out where the Gemma is?” he whispers at Hyunjin.

Hyunjin shrugs. “I don’t know,” he mutters. “It’s best to blend in for now, though. I don’t think anyone here is from the Ordinem, but with so many people, it wouldn’t be surprising if someone here were their crony.”

With that, he swivels around and smiles at a bartender. The bartender, who Jisung notices is a human, strides up to them as he towels off a mug. “Welcome to _Maledictum_ ,” he grins. “What can I get for you two lovebirds?”

Jisung chokes on air. “No, no,” he laughs dryly, patting his own chest to cough out the last few breaths. _What the hell is going on?_ “The both of us? Lovebirds? Definitely not, haha.”

Even Hyunjin seems uneasy. “We are most _definitely_ not together,” he grimaces. “And, uh, water is good.”

The bartender stops in his tracks. He sets the mug down with a _chink!_ on the counter. He narrows his eyes at the two of them, scanning them up and down with a mischievous glint in his irises. “Well, the both of you are wearing matching shirts, so don’t blame me for thinking you two were together,” he chuckles. Stunned, Jisung exchanges confused glances between their shirts. Indeed, they’re both wearing matching white tee shirts underneath their jackets. 

In their dazed state of mind in the morning, Jisung supposes they hadn’t thought about their choice of clothing very much.

Hyunjin’s cheeks are flushed pink. “We’re not together,” he insists, glaring at the bartender. “And are you even supposed to meddle with people’s lives here?”

The bartender shrugs, his grin still splayed across his lips. “Maybe, maybe not,” he laughs. “You’re probably not from around here, aren’t you? _Maledictum_ is famous for being a hotspot for lovers, heartbreakers, and the heartbroken. It’s practically in my job description to be involved in people’s lives.”

As if on cue, the man sat next to Hyunjin instantly erupts into a fountain of tears. Startled, the two lieutenants gawk at the grown man sobbing into his hands, tears flowing ceaselessly down his cheeks. “I don’t understand why she dumped me!” he wails. Despite how loud he is, the bass music booming from the overhead speakers drowns out his cries. “I did everything she asked me to do. I bought her flowers. I bought her a car. I had sex with her. I did everything for her! And yet, she still broke up with me!”

Jisung doesn’t think he’s seen anything wilder than this. He watches on as the bartender sighs, swipes up the mug on the counter and rummages around the overhead cupboards. “Derek, I told you she wasn’t the one for you,” he mutters. He retrieves a bottle from a rack, and a suspicious-looking violet liquid sloshes around inside the glass. He pours some of it out into the mug and slides it across the counter. “It’s free of charge for you.”

The man, Derek, sniffs and takes up the mug. He downs it in one shot, slamming the mug down onto the mahogany wood once he’s done. He seems to have calmed down already, and much to Jisung’s shock, he’s already sliding off of his seat and staggering over to the dance floor.

Jisung can’t believe his eyes when Derek walks over to a nearby table, where a lonesome man is sitting by himself, cradling a stein in his hands. Without warning, he instantly grabs the man’s face and crashes their lips together. The stein clatters to the ground, and within seconds, the two men are making out like there’s no tomorrow in the middle of the sea of people.

Amused, Hyunjin whistles. “Wow,” he chuckles. “That’s the fastest I’ve ever seen someone overcome a heartbreak.”

The bartender raises his shoulder in a shrug. “Technically, he wasn’t really _that_ heartbroken,” he remarks. “He was just here last week mooning over that woman he was with. He just wants company.” He raises the bottle in the air, and Jisung catches sight of the label slapped across the glass. _Wake-Up Call._ “Some people come here to drink, others come here to gamble, but the majority of them come here to find someone to be with. Just look around you.”

In this shadowy bar, Jisung notices how there doesn’t seem to be anyone alone at all. Couples are making out in the middle of the dance floor. Groups of friends are laughing over cards. Aliens of different species exchange conversations over beers and wines. The weirdest part is that it’s _true_ — no one wants to be alone in this space. Beyond the shady impression of the bar, he can’t help but be swayed by the bartender.

When he glimpses back at the bartender, the latter waggles his eyebrows. “You both want water, right?”

Just as Hyunjin nods his head, Jisung blurts, “Surprise me.”

The words shock Jisung as soon as they spill from his lips. The bartender arches an eyebrow at him, clearly amused. “As you wish,” he replies, bowing slightly before slipping through a backdoor, into what might possibly be the pantry.

Next to him, Hyunjin nudges him sharply in the ribs. “What the hell?” he hisses. He knits his eyebrows together in confusion. “Did you even see what that bartender gave the dude just now? He just waltzed off and started kissing some random stranger right there!”

Hyunjin squeezes his eyes shut, trying to maintain his composure. “This is a mission, Han,” he warns. “We’re supposed to stay sober on the job.”

For once, Jisung actually doesn’t care about what Hyunjin spews out next. For once, Jisung actually wants to do what he _wants,_ albeit something completely out of his nature. “Well,” he smiles, “you did say we had to blend in.”

A kind of gleeful satisfaction swells under Jisung’s chest as he watches the shock spread across Hyunjin’s face. Ha! Twisted his own words against him. Jisung feels ready to gloat aloud, when the bartender returns with two glasses. One of them holds water, whilst the other holds a light blue concoction fizzing away, tiny bubbles popping at the surface.

If Jisung had squinted a little more, he would’ve seen the label on the bottle. _A Dream in a Reality._

“Here you go,” the bartender grins. “Let’s say it’s on the house. Enjoy.”

Hyunjin casts a concerned look at the other, who’s already lifting the glass to his lips. “What if he dropped something inside?” he whispers into Jisung’s ear. His breath is hot against the shell of his ear, but instead of wanting to pull away, Jisung stays. “What if he’s working with the Ordinem? What if he’s trying to drug you?”

Jisung grins lazily at Hyunjin. “I have you around, don’t I?” he teases lightly, before tipping his head back. The liquid burns, fucking _burns_ a trail down his throat. A sudden memory resurfaces, of that time they’d attended Jeongin’s birthday bash and Felix had mixed him a horrendous blend of soju, wine and vodka. This tastes at least ten times worse than whatever shit Felix had cooked up for him back then.

He suppresses the urge to cough, and forces the rest of the liquid down his throat. When he slams the glass back down onto the counter, he feels his head swirl. “Woah,” he croaks. “What the fuck was in that shit?”

The bartender bats his eyelashes innocently at him. “Oh, just a potion I’ve been meaning to try out,” he replies curtly. “How did it taste?”

 _Potion._ The word swims around in his fuzzy brain. “It tasted like shit,” Jisung burps. He watches Hyunjin flinch, his nose all scrunched up. Weirdly enough, it actually looks kind of ridiculously adorable. His lips are pinched upwards too, his lower lip jutting out. And his eyes — they’re narrowed, irises glimmering under the glow of the overhead lights.

Somewhere behind him, he hears a voice waver in the background. “Well, have fun then! I’ll leave you two at it.” He guesses it’s the bartender, but he honestly can’t be sure. His vision’s blurred over, and the only thing in his focus is the sharp outline of Hyunjin gazing back at him. 

“Han Jisung,” Hyunjin sighs. “You’re swaying already. Do you really not know how to hold your alcohol?”

Even his voice is sweet. _Like honey,_ Jisung thinks. Like honey flowing from a jar. Thing is, Jisung doesn’t really like honey at all — what does one even eat with honey? He’s only ever had honey lemon tea, but beyond that, he’s never used honey on anything. 

Where is he even going with this?

“Jisung, you actually look pale.” The sweet honey voice falters into and out of Jisung’s subconsciousness as he mulls over his inner monologue. Would honey taste good on a sandwich? Probably not. The honey would just sink into the bread, right? He’s spread peanut butter on bread, the chunky kind with bits of peanuts amidst the butter. One time when he was over at Felix’s, he’d watched the other spread peanut butter, and strangely enough, strawberry jelly messily onto his sandwich. Gosh, he was so bad at spreading. The jelly had spilled all over the marble counter.

Jisung squints. “Peanut butter,” he murmurs. “And jelly.”

“What?” Hyunjin waves a hand over his eyes. “Universe to Jisung. Are you there?”

Something pounds in Jisung’s head. He squeezes the thought of his mind, out his throat, past his lips. “Honey, honey,” he sings. “Honeyyyyy.”

Hyunjin’s face contorts into frustration, and he turns his head to face someone. _Who’s he talking to?_ Jisung wonders. “Hey, what the _hell_ did you give him? Now he’s just spewing random shit over here!”

The image of Hyunjin dances in his eyes. His blonde hair looks greasy, scraped hastily into a ponytail — but somehow hot all the same. The silver jewellery adorning his ears shine back at him. “Honey,” Jisung whispers. “Honey, honey, honey.”

He sees his fingers floating in mid-air — since when did he raise his arm? Since when did he brush his fingers against the stray strand of hair that had long fallen past Hyunjin’s eyes? Jisung hums, tucking the hair back behind a reddening ear. Dazed, his eyes sweep across Hyunjin’s face, landing on features that he particularly likes: his eyes. His nose. His lips. His chin. 

_Would the skin at his chin be soft?_ Jisung thinks. He leans closer, trying to inspect the skin there. There’s an odd pimple beginning to blossom near his jaw, but beyond that, there lie no imperfections on a man as perfect as him. “Peanut butter,” he drawls, his tongue heavy in his mouth. “And jelly. And honey.”

He watches the way Hyunjin’s lips move, in a sort of stop-motion film. “Jisung… You’re a genius… Hey, do you know… someone here… PJ and Honey-”

And then he can’t see the other’s lips anymore. Jisung feels something wet against his lips, slick against the remains of the liquid on his lips. His eyelids flutter shut at the sensation. The heat gurgling away at the depths of his gut explodes into fireworks, and his hands fly out to catch onto fabric. 

Someone struggles against him, but the fight dissipates when he feels a kind of pressure leaning against his lips. Jisung reciprocates, kissing back twice as hard. His feet dangle off of the ground as he pushes back, chasing for more of the heat burning under his skin. His heart swells full, almost fit to burst, as the heat emanates off of his body. He yearns for more, leaning closer and deepening the kiss-

And then the pressure is gone. Despite how heavy his eyelids are, Jisung forces them open to look at the shocked expression scribbled across Hyunjin’s face. His lips are bruising red, parted open in absolute horror.

Nothing can stop the crash of realisation pummelling right into Jisung’s chest. His vision sharpens, and the crowd behind Hyunjin becomes clearer in his eyes. His nerves rise up to his throat. Fuck. 

Fuck. 

“Hyunjin, fuck, I didn’t mean to-”

“-Gentlemen?” The two of them swivel around. Standing beside the sheepish-looking bartender is a tall man with platinum blonde hair styled to the side. He’s dressed to the nines in a black blazer, worn over a silk button-down tucked into long slacks. He arches an eyebrow at the both of them. “Sorry to interrupt the whole make-out fest here, but did you just say PJ and Honey?”

Speechless, Hyunjin nods. His eyes never leave Jisung’s face. Fuck.

Unbeknownst to their bewilderment, the man leans down to look at the both of them square in the eye. “Do you know who Younghyun is?”

Jisung nods. “Y-Yeah?” he gulps. “How do… how do you know him?”

The man laughs heartily. “We go way back,” he explains. He sticks a hand out in the air, his grin immovable from his face. “My name’s Park Jaehyung. Glad to meet you two. Something tells me you’re not here for me though — perhaps what you’re looking for is hiding in my cupboards upstairs.”

Neither of them shake his hand, and Jaehyung awkwardly retracts his arm back.

Ever so slowly, Hyunjin tears his gaze away from Jisung and blinks up at the stranger. “What do you think we’re here for, then?” he asks, wary.

Jaehyung smiles. “Something bright and alluring and glowing, like something out of a poem,” he says mystically. He doesn’t even give them a chance to breathe as he turns on his heel and saunters off in the direction of the backdoor. “I don’t know what you gave them, Dowoon, but hand them something to sober up and send them up to my room!"

The bartender — Dowoon — smiles shyly at the both of them, his ears flushed pink. Silently, he passes Jisung a glass of water and a white pill. Frowning, he swallows the pill in one go and shakily stumbles to his feet. They barely have time to process everything as they trudge towards the backdoor, bracing themselves for the discovery ahead of them.

He doesn’t need to look at Hyunjin to know he’s absolutely, completely and royally fucked up — this time, he’s not referring to just the operation. In one move, he’s royally fucked up whatever last remnants of a friendship between the two of them. The string that barely ties them together has finally snapped, once and for all, and nothing can mend it again anymore. 

  
  



	4. chapter four

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> sorry for the influx of information packed into this chapter oop

Jisung and Hyunjin follow Dowoon up the creaking stairs wordlessly. As soon as they reach the landing, he turns around to look at them, a sheepish smile on his face. “Sorry about earlier with my, uh, potion,” he winces. “I didn’t realise it would actually work.”

Jisung wrinkles his brow. His head swirls from the aftermath of the drink and the… well. “Potion?” he echoes. “Are you some witch or something?”

Dowoon laughs good-naturedly and winks at them. “Or something,” he smiles. “By the way, I haven’t heard anyone call Jaehyung by that nickname in a while. I don’t know who the both of you are, but I have a feeling hyung will be happy to see you both.” He pats both their shoulders, before stalking off down the stairwell, leaving them alone in the dimly lit hallway. 

Cautiously, Jisung glances at the only door at the end of the hallway. “Is he inside there?” he whispers.

Jisung almost jumps out of his skin when he feels something brushing against his hand. When he peers down, he releases a stuttered sigh as he sees the hem of Hyunjin’s jacket grazing the back of his palm. An electric buzz tingles through Jisung’s veins, shaking his every nerve as his eyes flick up to the side of Hyunjin’s face. “Probably,” the latter mutters. “He just called us up here and disappeared. Goodness knows whether he actually has the Gemma or not.”

In that instance, the door swings open and slams against the plastered wall. The two lieutenants jerk up, shocked as Jaehyung re-emerges and gestures for them to come over. “Hey, you two, come over here already,” he urges. “Gosh, what did Dowoon give you both to be so jumpy? C’mon now.”

Jisung and Hyunjin exchange hesitant glances. They don’t hold their gaze for long — Hyunjin’s eyes trace back to the older man by the door. “Yeah, we’re coming."

They shuffle down the long hallway, before they’re ushered into what seems to be a bedroom. The room is plain, save for the single bed pressed against a curtained window, a study desk, a bookshelf and a cupboard. Jisung takes the opportunity to scan the stranger up and down. He looks to be in his thirties, dressed far too formally for their current occasion. And yet, his presence suddenly reminds Jisung of the man they’d met back in Ilsanis.

His earlier words ricochet in Jisung’s mind, and he blurts, “You’re the guy Younghyun talked about in his journal.”

Baffled, Jaehyung swivels around and narrows his eyes at him. “His journal?” He scrunches his nose as he mulls over this, before snapping his fingers. “Ah, right. I gave him that journal a while back. He actually wrote about me inside, huh?” he chuckles. There’s something kind in his voice that calms Jisung down, something that somehow reminds him of Younghyun. 

Hyunjin snorts. “He gushed all about you in his journal,” he points out. “It was actually his journal that led us here.”

Nodding, Jaehyung purses his lips together thoughtfully. “Very, very interesting.” Jisung knows he’s trying to keep his tone neutral, but he can see the tell-tale sign of a smile that the older man is fighting back. He realises that whatever feelings Younghyun had spilled out in on paper were — no, _are_ — reciprocated by his loved one, and it sends something aflutter in his stomach.

Jaehyung snaps himself back to reality and dashes to his cupboard. “Ah, what am I doing,” he laughs, hurriedly producing a foldable table and three foldable chairs from his spacious cupboard. “Come on and help set this up, and we can chat about the Gemma, yeah?”

At the word ‘Gemma’, hope bubbles in Jisung’s heart again. Right. They’re here for the last Gemma. He sneaks a glance at Hyunjin, hopefully wishing to smile at him, but the other seems to be making an exaggerated attempt not to look at him. Jisung ignores the simmering in his gut as he helps unfold the chairs and table. 

Within minutes, Jaehyung’s pouring out cups of tea for them. A plate of cookies sits prettily in the centre, and Jisung helps himself to one. “Before I tell you anything about the Gemma, though, I have questions,” Jaehyung grins. “Tell me your names, please. Then, tell how you know my nickname. I haven’t been called PJ and Honey since the last time Younghyun visited.”

After Jisung introduces themselves to him, Hyunjin tells the tale, of how they deciphered Younghyun’s whereabouts, of how they met Younghyun, of how they were given the journal and a name by Younghyun. “We were just about to leave right after, when we realised the Ordinem had followed us all the way there. He shot Younghyun’s arm through his glass window.”

Abruptly, Jaehyung’s leg jerks up and thumps against the bottom of the table. “What?!” he hisses. “They shot his arm? What the-”

“-calm down,” Hyunjin grimaces. “I’m sure he’s fine. He said he was going to be fine, and all we could do was trust him. He led us to a secret passageway he built into his home, and we set off. After we ran away from the Ordinem, we went through his journal. We managed to crack a clue that the last Gemma might be located here, in Incheonis.”

Bemused, Jaehyung leans back in his seat with his arms folded across his chest. “I’m surprised you both even managed to find Incheonis,” he murmurs. “The visitors we get here are only here because they pass by Incheonis by accident on their way somewhere else.”

“We managed to find an ancient map with Incheonis on it,” Jisung explains. “And we followed it to here. When we saw the bar name, we thought it’d be worth a try to come over here."

Jaehyung waggles his eyebrows. “One with the curse once told, huh?” he chuckles dryly. He snatches up a cookie and crunches into it. “What brings the two of you all the way here, then? I don’t think you two belong to the Ordinem. The fact that neither of you are holding me at gunpoint tells me that.”

Hyunjin leans across the table, hands planted on his knees. “We’re here because we’re trying to beat the Ordinem to the Gemma,” he says. “All of our people back at the Motherboard keep getting attacked by the Ordinem, and no one’s been able to find the last Gemma. The only reason we both could locate it was because of Younghyun’s report, which he posted online not too long ago.”

“You both _are_ from the Motherboard, huh?” Jaehyung asks. “Interesting. So this whole journey was just to accomplish some mission and get the last Gemma?”

“Pretty much,” Jisung nods. “Do you… do you actually have it?”

Jaehyung chuckles, before taking another bite out of his cookie again. “Believe it or not, I do,” he grins. “But you’re kinda ruining the moment. Wouldn’t you want to know why it’s located here and nowhere else? Wonder why it’s supposedly with ‘the curse once told’?”

Heat creeps up Jisung’s neck and fills his cheeks. “Right,” he agrees. “Younghyun kept mentioning that this planet is hidden from the rest of the Universe, which is true. So why? Why is this place cursed? Why is it erased from today’s records of the Universe?”

It’s obvious to the both of them that Jaehyung is more than excited to share his story. He readjusts his position in his chair, clears his throat and grins wolfishly at the two lieutenants. “You’ve probably seen how our planet is inhabited by all kinds of species, right?” he points out. “What if I told you that Incheonis is inhabited by _other_ people as well?”

Jisung thinks back to the liquid he’d chugged down earlier. “ _Witches_ ,” he breathes. So he _is_ right. Dowoon _is_ a witch.

“You’re truly a cadet from the Motherboard, kiddo,” Jaehyung winks. “Precisely. Incheonis used to be governed by witches, actually, about 300 to 400 years ago. Our main governor was a witch himself. You’ll remember that the Gemmas were created by the rulers of the five largest galaxies in the Universe, including ours, the Stella Primum. At the time of the Gemma discussions, our governor was the representative of our galaxy.

“When he finished discussions and the Gemma was created,” he continues, “he realised how dangerous it would be if someone — or, in this case with the Ordinem — an organisation that was power-hungry got their hands on all the Gemmas, he knew our Universe would be doomed. So he did what any other witch would do.”

When Jaehyung doesn’t say anything more, Jisung realises he’s waiting for a guess from either one of them. Between the two of them, Hyunjin answers first. “He cursed this planet, thus wiping it out from any of today’s records,” he suggests.

“Bingo,” Jaehyung nods. “Incheonis became invisible to the Universe’s eye, unless one became curious and dug up ancient records, just like the both of you did. This curse is powerful, more powerful than any other curse ever casted by any witch on our planet, because it stayed on even after the death of our governor.”

A thousand questions buzz in Jisung’s head. He licks his chapped lips, desperate to remember what Younghyun had told them during their encounter with him. “What else does this curse entail?” he questions.

Jaehyung sighs. “The thing about this curse is that, to keep this planet invisible to the rest of the Universe, the curse carries great extremes. Whilst we can receive information from the rest of the Universe, the rest of the Universe can’t receive any information from us.”

The jigsaw pieces are becoming to come together, traced together by answer after answer from the man before them. Exhilarated, Hyunjin leans forward and blurts, “That’s why Younghyun said he couldn’t say anything verbally to us.”

“But the journal was probably gifted to him, from you,” Jisung blabbers, “meaning that the journal could have been made _before_ the curse was set, so he could write anything about Incheonis down in his journal.”

Hyunjin gasps, his pupils blown wide. “Would the curse go as far as to… as to _kill_ someone?” he asks.

Jaehyung arches an eyebrow. “Well… we’re not too sure about that, considering we’ve never tried sending one of our citizens out into the Universe and seeing if they’ll burn alive,” he says. “We do hear of some news, though. A visitor who swung by here around 40 years ago stayed for more than two weeks. A day after he left, his spaceship exploded into smithereens by some otherworldly force. About 15 years ago, two ladies came by for a ten-day stop. They both mysteriously died during their journey home, too.”

No way. Jisung has to swallow the lump in his throat. “Then what about the both of us…?” he whispers, his voice trembling with the realisation that they might… die?

At this, though, Jaehyung snorts. “If that were the case, you wouldn’t have been able to meet Younghyun,” he chortles. “He stayed for five days here, and he went back to Ilsanis in one piece. I know that because he came back for a second visit soon after.”

Jisung feels his tense shoulder relax a little. Out of the corner of his eye, he can see how Hyunjin slumps back down into his seat, too. “Seoullis and stars, that scared the hell out of me for a moment,” he chuckles nervously. “To get things straight, Younghyun was researching into the last Gemma, stumbled upon this place and met you. You told him about the Gemma, and he returned and wrote about it in his journal. We got his journal, and we found you here.”

Jaehyung nods along, pouring more tea into his cup.

Yet, there’s something still niggling away at Jisung. “Then why do you have the Gemma, then?” he asks. “If your ancient governor was the holder of the Gemma, why do you have it here… in your cupboard?”

Jaehyung takes a sip of his tea and smiles. “Take a wild guess.”

Hyunjin frowns. “Are you the owner of the bar downstairs?” he quizzes.

“Yes.”

“Oh,” Hyunjin breathes. “ _Oh._ You’re a witch, too?”

“Exactly,” Jaehyung grins. His feet even dance along the wooden floors. “Honestly? This is so exciting. It’s exactly like how I explained everything to Younghyun back then.”

The gears click in Jisung’s head. “You’re family to the governor,” he mutters. “Which is why you inherited the Gemma and have been hiding it here for… for forever.”

The ceramic of his cup lets out a sharp chink as Jaehyung places it back down onto the table. “Not forever,” he says, the corner of his lips quirked upwards into a soft smile. “Isn’t it what the both of you are here for?”

Silence drapes over the bedroom. “You’re just going to give it to us like that?” Jisung splutters. “Just like that?”

Jaehyung laughs. “You two catch on too fast,” he sighs. “I’m willing to give the Gemma to the both of you, knowing that you’re from the Motherboard, on two conditions.”

“What would they be?” Hyunjin asks.

“First condition,” Jaehyung announces, lifting his index finger up in the air, “you cannot disclose any of this information to anyone else: who gave you the Gemma, where the both of you found it, blah blah blah. If your Motherboard dudes want a report, just tell them that you found it on Incheonis, and case closed. Governor forbid what will happen to the both of you if you said anything about this place.”

Jisung swallows loudly. Hyunjin grimaces, as if he were imagining their death.

Jaehyung smiles. “Second condition. I would like to have Younghyun’s journal — if I may.”

Before Jisung can say anything, Hyunjin’s already rummaging around in his rucksack in a search for the journal. After a short moment, he retrieves it and slides it over the table. “So you love him back,” he mumbles.

Something passes across Jaehyung’s face. His smile spreads across his face, lighting up his every feature. Jisung has to admit that he looks quite young and handsome, and can only imagine how the love must have brewed between him and Younghyun. “You’re right about that, too,” he admits. “He visits occasionally, the last time being a month or two ago. He tries not to go to and fro too often, lest any Ordinem spies catch him and try to follow him.”

Jisung thinks back to the secret passageway, and finally understands why Younghyun decided to build it in the first place. “Wow,” he mutters. “This feels like something out of a fantasy book come alive.”

“It’s come back in full circle,” Hyunjin notes thoughtfully. “Everything, from the cryptic clue in the poem and Younghyun’s report, to meeting Younghyun in Ilsanis, to finally meeting you and the Gemma here in Incheonis.”

Jaehyung sighs overdramatically, placing a hand delicately over his heart. “If only our planet weren’t cursed,” he swoons, “the both of you could write an epic of your own.”

Jisung grins. “So we give you the journal and keep our word,” he promises. “Will you give us the last Gemma now?”

“A deal’s a deal,” Jaehyung affirms. He stands to his feet, strides over the cupboard and wrenches the door open again. This time, though, he reaches to the back of the wooden cupboard and yanks a door handle open, revealing a safe hidden in the wall. After some considerable beeping that could only indicate a very, very long password, there’s a final hiss and a faint glow emanating from the dark cupboard.

“Ta-da,” Jaehyung singsongs. “Gemma, say hello to your new owners.”

Hyunjin blinks. “That’s honestly a lot smaller than I thought it would be.”

Even Jisung has to agree, because holy shit did they magnify the Gemma in the photographs. The light from the overhead lamps reflects off of the 58-faceted jewel. Unlike the other coloured Gemmas, the exterior of this one is akin to that of a transparent diamond. It glimmers majestically in Jaehyung’s palm, though it can’t be any much bigger than a thumb.

“We might actually lose this thing,” Jisung squeaks as the witch plonks the Gemma right into his open palm. 

Jaehyung barks with laughter. “I can only imagine how much my ancestor would roll around in his coffin if you actually lose it,” he cackles. “I’m sure the both of you won’t lose sight of it. Just don’t go drinking any more of Dowoon’s potions, and you’ll be good. He may be my apprentice, but his potions still taste like shit.”

At the mention of the potion once more, Jisung’s eyes flicker back down to the floor. Hyunjin glimpses somewhere else. 

“Right, uh,” Jisung nods. “It’s been a pleasure doing business with… Okay, technically there wasn’t much trading of assets, but… no, information is counted as an asset, isn’t it-”

“-what he wants to say is,” Hyunjin interrupts, “ we are really grateful, Mr Park. Thanks to you, we’re one more step ahead of the Ordinem. We won’t let you or your ancestors down.”

Jaehyung pats their shoulders. “You mean that you won’t let the _Universe_ down,” he corrects. “I don’t mean to pressure you both or whatever, but the fate of our Universe is in your hands… literally.”

Jisung’s fingers curl around the Gemma, the jagged edges digging lightly into his skin. He zips it up into the confinement of his own rucksack, before glancing over at Jaehyung. “Thanks, Mr Park.”

Yet, as Jaehyung ushers them out of his bedroom, Jisung can’t help but realise something else is bugging him. He glances ahead, where Hyunjin’s already making his way to the stairwell.

Better now than never, Jisung thinks. Mustering up his courage, he hollers, “Hyunjin! I need to ask Jaehyung something.”

Hyunjin pauses, hand resting on the railing of the stairs. Jisung inhales sharply before turning around to face the older man. “If Younghyun knew where the Gemma was,” he asks. “Why didn’t he take the Gemma with him? Why didn’t you give it to him instead?”

Surprised, Jaehyung muses over this for a few seconds. “He was researching about the Gemma,” he finally replies. “He never intended on taking it with him, he told me. He said that he’d rather leave the Gemma behind and wait for someone to come along and complete the Prophecy. Or, in this case, make sure that the Prophecy is never met.”

Jisung chews on his lower lip. “Do you know what the five Gemmas do? When they’re brought together?” he presses.

Much to his disappointment, Jaehyung hangs his head low. “No,” he sighs. “I’ve scrounged through my ancestors’ records, but I simply don’t know. I even have access to some documents that our current governor doesn’t, and yet there’s no trace of the Prophecy’s consequences. It’s as if the power of the Gemmas is so strong that even their creators were scared of it.”

As much as his answers didn’t bear fruit, Jisung nods his head and bows. “Thank you for your time, Mr Park-”

“-call me Jae, please,” Jaehyung sighs. “I sound superbly old if you call me that. Also…” He leans in close, and drops his voice to a low whisper. “I know this is going to sound veeeeery intrusive of me, but I am a huge sap when it comes to young love. I don’t know what’s going on between the both of you, but I can assure you that Hyunjin doesn’t feel nothing for you. And you certainly don’t feel nothing for him, either.”

Jisung pulls back, shocked. His head spins in a hurricane. “What?”

Jae shrugs, before winking and slamming the door in his face. Baffled, Jisung scratches the back of his neck before catching up with the second lieutenant. “What did he tell you?” Hyunjin asks as they head down the stairs.

The older man’s words reverberate in his ears, loudly and clearly. _I can assure you that Hyunjin doesn’t feel nothing for you._ Jisung braves himself to look at Hyunjin, holding their gaze for a beat too long, before casting his line of sight back to the crowded bar below them. “Nothing important,” he finally says. 

✴

By the time they’re strapped in their seatbelts aboard the Golden Ace, nothing seems to feel the same anymore. From the petty arguments and their run-in with the Ordinem, to the revelation of Hyunjin’s family and the kiss in the bar, nothing seems to feel the same anymore. And yet, Jisung jiggles the key into the keyhole, kicking the ship alive once more, as if everything seems to feel the same once more.

“Let’s head back to the Motherboard,” he finally announces.

Within seconds, they’re whizzing past the atmosphere of Incheonis and out into the wide vastness of the galaxy. Jisung sighs as he steadies the ship, his eyes still trained to the cockpit window.

“Jisung.”

Jisung freezes. Jae’s words haven’t stopped repeating in his mind like a hopelessly broken record tape. _He doesn’t feel nothing for you. He doesn’t feel nothing for you. He doesn’t feel nothing for-_

“Why didn’t we just hyperjump to Ilsanis in the first place?”

Jisung takes a long moment to process the other’s words. Then another to think of a coherent sentence to string together. “Oh.” He chuckles dryly, before awkwardly coughing from the saliva caught in his throat. “Uh… to be honest? I kinda forgot our ship was equipped with a hyperdrive until, well… until we were chased by the Ordinem, since I’ve never flown in a ship with a hyperdrive engine before, y’know? And it was a stroke of luck that we didn’t, since our inertia dampers broke after one use.”

“Then why didn’t we hyperjump from Seongnam to Incheonis?”

Jisung squeezes his eyes shut, before opening them once more and looking at Hyunjin. Instead of the desolate expression he’d expected on the other’s face, there seems to be a trace of frustration and maybe sadness in the lines of his face. “You told me how your dad died,” he admits. “And I saw the way you hesitated to jump us into hyperspace. I didn’t want to do anything to make you uncomfortable.”

The tension between them is now thicker than ever. Ever since the kiss, Jisung can’t seem to think straight at all. What was the potion supposed to do? What was Hyunjin feeling right now? Was Jae right with what he said?

What do Jae’s words mean after all?

Finally, Hyunjin sighs. “You know,” Hyunjin says slowly. “I think we can hyperjump back to the Motherboard.”

Stunned, Jisung’s neck jerks up. “Really?”

Hyunjin smiles. This time, his smile reaches his eyes. “Really.” 

Even if nothing feels the same anymore, Hyunjin somehow makes it seem like _everything_ is still the same. Like they hadn’t kissed at all. Like they hadn’t opened up their stories to each other at all. Like they were still the same two rivals, the same two lieutenants who would fight over something as petty as racing each other to someone’s office. Like everything is still the same, and will remain the same forever. 

Deep down, Jisung doesn’t know whether he should feel relieved or… disappointed.

He pushes the thought away for now. Right now, his hand hovers over the lever and gently wraps around the edge of the metal. “You ready, then?”

All it takes is a nod of Hyunjin’s head before Jisung yanks the lever down, and off they jump into hyperspace, leaving the last remains of Incheonis behind them — the only trace of its history lying in the memory of a stolen kiss and a glowing gem in their hands.

✴

Most missions that end successfully are usually greeted by crowds of cadets waving and cheering, and sometimes even the Governor steps out into the hangars to bless the succeeders with his grace. There’s sometimes an award ceremony, followed by a grand banquet, and Jisung knows that for a fact, from that time Captain Seo had returned back to Seoullis after a gruelling mission to restore the safety of their neighbouring planet of Ulsanis. He can still remember the grandeur of it all, the golden medal gleaming from where it hung around Changbin’s neck, the smile he beamed after receiving his award.

Yet, as Hyunjin docks their Golden Ace in the hangars, they’re greeted only by two poor technicians whose eyelids look ready to slide shut from exhaustion.

Jisung pats their shoulders before walking off towards the entrance to the Motherboard. Behind him, Hyunjin tosses the keys to the technicians. 

Their mission that ended in a success is ultimately left a secret. 

Once they’d pulled themselves out of hyperspace, Jisung had received the email from Colonel Bang insisting that they continued to keep the mission a secret, especially after Minji had sabotaged them. Who knows how many more people were there amongst their crew who would undermine them for the Ordinem.

“The colonel wants us in his office immediately,” Jisung reminds.

Hyunjin nods, smiling tightly before striding ahead of him. The lieutenant stops the disappointment from showing on his face. Their mission that had only lasted a mere few days had tested their patience, their working relationship, and their cooperation.

Jisung can’t believe all of that had shattered in a matter of seconds, all thanks to an amateur witch’s apprentice and his stupid, stupid potion.

Thankfully, they don’t pass by anyone else along the long corridor and up the stairs to the colonel’s office. Jisung knows it’s unlikely for anyone to know of their mission, but he still holds his rucksack protectively to his side as they traipse along the hallway and head up to the door. Hyunjin seems just as nervous as Jisung is, his trembling fingers curling into a fist and rapping hard against the metal. 

“Come in!” Chan’s voice booms from the inside.

Jisung watches the outline of his companion’s Adam’s apple bob up and down, before Hyunjin twists the doorknob open and pushes against the metallic door. Much to their surprise, of all people seated across from Chan, _Felix_ is grinning back and waving at them. Jisung blinks. _What?_

“Sorry,” Chan smiles sheepishly. Jisung’s not sure if it’s the lighting, but he swears he can see a deep crimson red dusted across the colonel’s cheeks, his ears. “I was just seeing Felix.”

“Hey,” Felix greets. He smiles so wide, Jisung wonders how his friend’s face hasn’t split into half yet. He gathers his papers and files, scooping them up into his arms and strides across the carpeted room. Before slipping out the door, he winks at them both and slaps Jisung’s arm. 

Jisung has zero idea what to even think. Why would the colonel see _Felix_ of all people?

Soon enough, though, he realises he doesn’t have to wonder at all. “I was seeing Felix because he actually filled in your place while you were gone, Lieutenant Han. I was just checking up on his progress so far,” Chan explains. He gestures for the both of them to sit down, and the two lieutenants quietly plop themselves down onto the cushioned seats. “I assume that the mission was successful? I hope?”

“Oh,” Jisung says, keeping his face stoic. “Maybe you shouldn’t be too hopeful.”

Glee rises up his chest the moment he sees Chan’s face fall. “Oh. Well, I guess I shouldn’t have been too hopeful, should I? I apologise for that on my part-”

“-He’s kidding,” Hyunjin interjects. He glances over at Jisung with an arched eyebrow. Jisung breaks character, chuckling as he rummages around in his rucksack. His hand closes around the Gemma, before showing it to Chan and setting it gently onto the desk, amidst the ocean of papers and documents. 

Chan’s eyes practically bug out of his skull. “You both actually… you both actually found it,” he breathes.

A smile finds its way upon Jisung’s lips. “Yeah, we did.” His voice comes out softer than he intends. More feeble. He feels heat burn up to the apples of his cheeks, and he glances down at his boots. 

Chan turns the Gemma over in his hand, his eyes drinking in the sight of its glory. It seems to shine so brightly, radiant as it mirrors the light rays gleaming down upon its edges. He sighs, too dazed to even process the gem in his palm. “Incredible,” he murmurs. He meets both of their gazes, too stunned to speak for a moment. “You both have accomplished something that no one has done for the past 300 years. I don’t even know what to say.”

It dawns upon Jisung that he has never seen the colonel this frazzled before, too lost for words. The realisation that they really found the last Gemma hasn’t really sunk into him just yet. His head feels like cotton as he fidgets with the ends of his sleeves. “What… what happens now?”

The colonel presses his lips together into a thin line. “We’re going to store the Gemma away into our safe in the Motherboard,” he explains. “Concerning Kim Minji, we’re holding her in our cells right now and she’ll be under questioning starting tomorrow, though we do have strong evidence that she’s responsible for the tracker onboard your ship already.”

Jisung’s heart picks up. “Does the Ordinem know that we have the last Gemma?” he whispers.

Chan frowns. “As far as we know, no. You mentioned that you managed to break the tracker before you found the Gemma. I suppose we can be under the illusion that they don’t know about your discovery, at least for now. 

“For now, though, I’ll need you two to write down a report about your discovery of the last Gemma,” Chan continues, clasping his hands together on the desk. “I understand it’s been a tiring journey, though, so I’ll give you both a deadline of four days from now. I’ll expect a report in my email inbox by then.”

The two lieutenants nod, scrape their chairs back and bow slightly. As they turn around on their heels and head for the door, Chan calls them back once more. Jisung glances over his shoulder to see the colonel wave the Gemma at them. “I understand we can’t publicly disclose any information about this operation with the rest of the Motherboard,” he says, “so I wish to extend my gratitude by buying you both dinner tomorrow night. Is that alright with you two?”

Jisung turns to look at Hyunjin. “Yeah,” he nods. “I’m okay with it.”

“Same here,” Hyunjin mutters, before averting his gaze from Jisung and sauntering out the door. 

Jisung ignores the look of confusion on Chan’s face before he darts out of the office room, clicking the metallic door shut behind him.

✴

“I’m so glad you came back in one piece,” Jeongin sighs, peeling back a banana before chomping on it. “No, correction — I’m glad the _both_ of you came back in one piece. Governor forbid what might’ve happened if the both of you had let loose on each other.”

“Let loose?” Felix chuckles, wiggling his eyebrows. “Interesting choice of words, Jeonginnie.” 

Unlike the youngest, Felix doesn’t care about peeling his banana, though; he simply bites right into it, leaving Jisung half-disgusted, half-amused. They’re sitting in the bustling cafeteria for dinner. With the news that Jisung and Hyunjin have come home after four days of their sudden disappearance, the cafeteria is buzzing with conversation. Jisung can’t help but shrink back in his seat when he receives several glances his way.

Jeongin smacks the back of Felix’s head. “Yah, just because you got your share this week doesn’t mean you’ve got to live with a dirty mind from now on,” he sighs.

The spoon in Jisung’s hand clatters onto his tray. “‘Your share’?” he echoes. His eyes dart to Felix, whose freckles look like they’ve been lit ablaze on his flaming cheeks. “Oh my gosh. No way. No way did Felix Lee Yongbok, the most innocent boy to exist, the purest boy to grace our heavens-”

“-Hey, hey, yah.” Felix sighs and glares at the youngest. “Jeongin, what did I say about oversharing?” Jeongin smiles meekly before returning his attention to his banana.

Jisung practically buzzes with excitement. “You’re _not_ leaving this room until I get details,” Jisung insists. His eyes are as wide as saucers now, taking in Felix’s reddening ears. He cannot and absolutely _cannot_ believe his eyes or ears. “Who was it? How far did you go? How in the world did you even ‘get your share’ when you filled in my spot this week-”

He cuts himself off. Jisung blinks once, twice. At the third time, he gasps. “No way.” He puts two and two together and- it seems so impossible, but… His memory jogs him back to Chan’s flushed face. “Don’t tell me it’s the fucking _colonel_.”

When neither of his friends say anything, Jisung leans back into his seat. His arms _actually_ feel like jelly right now. “No way,” he breathes. “No fucking way. What? How?! I have never seen that man converse with anyone outside his office, let alone _date_ anyone here!”

“Because he’s always too busy scrolling through his computer or filing his endless papers,” Jeongin pipes up. He’s rubbing a reassuring hand over Felix’s back. The latter’s face looks ready to set on fire right about now. “You wanna say it, or should I tell the story-”

“-I’m not letting you say anything,” Felix gripes. He sighs, sliding both hands down his face out of humiliation. “Look, I didn’t expect it myself, okay.”

“Really?” Jisung chortles. He retrieves his spoon and begins swirling it around in his miso soup. “Should I remind you of our trainee days, of the many times when you’d gush on about how hot he is, how brave he is, how much you really want to ride his thighs-”

“-shut up, shut up, shut uuuuup,” Felix groans. “Okay, fine, I’ve had a _teeny_ tiny crush on him since our trainee interviews, but that’s something as fickle as puppy love, you know? I didn’t actually think he’d _like_ me — hell, he’s barely ever spoken to me! So I was shocked when he called me into his office shortly after you left, and he assigned me to fill in your position while you were gone. I said I was fine with it, but I didn’t know if I’d do a good job, since I’m not all too familiar with your duties and responsibilities. He offered to brief me over dinner, and I said yes.”

Jisung spits out his soup, and coughs violently into his fist. “ _Dinner_ ,” he repeats. “My dear Yongbokkie, he doesn’t just offer to brief _anyone_ face-to-face, and you know it. If it were anyone else, he would’ve just sent an email!”

“I know,” Felix presses. He stabs his salad with a fork, hissing through his teeth. “I thought it was weird, too, but I wasn’t going to turn him down, right? And then, holy shit, I am not kidding when I say he cleaned up so well. I felt so underdressed in my shirt and slacks, because he was wearing a goddamned _blazer_ . He even styled his hair! And then he brought me to eat at _Le Chatelier_ -”

“- _Le Chatelier_ , you mean that two-Stella star restaurant, you mean the most expensive restaurant on the whole planet of Seoullis?” Jisung exhales. He begins fanning himself. “I think I’m going to faint. Bro, the cheapest item on the menu is water! At ₩2000! It’s a fucking rip off!”

“I _know_!” Felix cries. He clutches his shirt and sighs dreamily. “I can’t believe he briefed me about your job while cutting into his ₩600,000 pork loin. I swear I almost keeled over while looking at the menu. I have never eaten anything so expensive in my life.”

Jeongin leans over the table and drops his voice into a whisper. “Are we not going to get to the part where he fed you a piece of his loin?” 

Jisung feels ready to launch himself out of his seat. “He did _what_ now?!” he whisper-shouts. 

The embarrassment on Felix’s face has him blushing all over now, down to his neck. “Well, yeah. Then after he briefed me about everything, we sort of just started… chatting. We even ordered dessert. Dessert! He gave me some of his chocolate mousse!” 

“And that was worth ₩45,000, mind you,” Jeongin mutters. Whether it’s out of jealousy or not, Jisung’s not sure, but he’s sure Jeongin would die for a spoonful of chocolate mousse. “Can we cut to the part where he brings you to his room?”

At this point in time, Jisung actually falls right out of his chair. He lands onto the linoleum floor unceremoniously, shrieking as his knee collides with the leg of the table. Several eyes glance their way, and a blushing Felix has to stand and bow slightly to the startled passers-by. Once Jisung’s scrambled back into his seat, he’s absolutely shocked out of his mind. “He brought you to his room,” he echoes. “Lee Felix, no one knows where the fuck the colonel lives! And he brought you to his room!”

“Our little Felix is quite the charmer,” Jeongin beams.

“Okay, look. We didn’t do anything-”

“-Beyond kissing, you mean-”

“-Alright, _maybe_ he carried me to his bed and we started making out-”

Jisung rubs away at the ache beginning to throb in front of his forehead. “How the hell did I miss so much action while I was gone?” he cries.

He feels a hand cupping his own palm on the table. When Jisung opens his eyes, he sees the vibrant smile spread across Felix’s face. “It’s okay, Sungie,” he giggles. “Honestly, none of it felt real to me. After we kissed for a while, he kind of confessed to me? That he’s been looking my way for a while but just didn’t know how to do so without acting unprofessional?”

“Yes, and buying you dinner at the priciest restaurant to exist and carrying you bridal style to his king-sized bed _does_ blur the line between professionalism and personal feelings,” Jeongin deadpans.

Happiness bubbles up Jisung’s chest, and he clasps Felix’s hand in his own and shakes their intertwined fingers together. “My boy Felix is all grown up,” he grins. His free hand reaches up to wipe an imaginary tear from the corner of his eye. “He’s all grown up, riding off into the sunset with the hottest colonel in town wrapped around his little finger.”

Felix sighs, but he can’t fight the smile from his face. “It feels a little surreal to me, really,” he admits. “So I told him that we should take it slow and start to know each other better first. He agreed we could do that, on the condition that no one else sees us, uh, meeting up and talking. And stuff.”

“You mean he’s going to seduce you to his room every night from now on?” Jisung offers. “What about our Friday karaoke nights? You’re going to ditch me and Jeonginnie here?!”

“I’m sticking around for those, don’t worry!” Felix guffaws. His grin mirrors Jisung’s. “I hope you’re not upset or anything.”

Jisung rolls his eyes. “Why would I be upset knowing that my best friend is finally dating?” he quizzes, before sipping on his soup. 

“Oh, that’s not the only thing,” Jeongin says mysteriously. Felix nudges his friend’s ribs sharply, causing the younger to howl in pain. 

Too tired to press for more answers, Jisung decidedly slurps up the rest of his soup and stands to put away his tray. His two friends mimic his actions, and once they’ve thrown away their trash, they stroll out of the cafeteria towards their barracks. Jisung swings an arm around Felix’s shoulder and noogies him with his free hand. “You little sneak,” he jokes. “Can’t believe you got dicked down before me.”

“Well, you _could’ve_ gotten dicked down,” Felix retorts. He rolls his eyes slightly and pinches Jisung’s cheek. “No action at all? Seriously?”

Jisung bites down lightly onto his tongue. Whilst he so desperately wants to tell his friends that there had been some action, he can’t imagine the look on Hyunjin’s face if Felix rushes over to the second lieutenant and starts prodding him with questions. He forces a fake laugh out of his throat. “Seriously. Why would I even get it on with that guy? He’s so annoying, it’d be a miracle if we-”

As they round the corner, Jisung’s words die on his tongue. Standing against the wall is their battalion’s captain, Changbin, cradling a coffee cup in his hand. Directly opposite him stands Captain Kim, or Seungmin, who’s giggling at something the other said before taking a swig of his own coffee. Jisung’s eyes widen when Changbin’s arm darts out, swiping some foam off of the corner of Seungmin’s lips.

“Holy Seoullis and stars,” he gasps.

Is he seeing this right? Is his captain, Seo Changbin, the captain of their battalion and the Kim Seungmin-hating club, actually flirting with his said rival right in front of their faces? Jisung slaps a hand over his mouth when he realises he's cursed aloud, but it’s too late. The two captains turn around, clearly startled. Changbin’s arm hangs in mid-air.

“Oh, uh,” Felix waves awkwardly. “Hey, captains?”

Seungmin narrows his eyes at them, and it’s enough for the trio to turn sharply on their heels and race off down the corridor from where they’d come from. As soon as they know they’re out of earshot, Jisung doubles over, panting heavily. He stares wide-eyed at Felix, then Jeongin. “What the fuck was _that_?”

Jeongin chuckles. “You missed a _lot_ while you were gone, hyung,” he says. “Apparently someone caught them talking in the dark, in the shooting range downstairs three days ago. Guess they finally talked out whatever tension was going on between the two of them.”

The lieutenant has had enough. He throws his hands up in the air and groans. As he turns to take the longer route back to the barracks, he sighs noisily. “Why did _everyone_ get dicked down this week except me?” he pouts.

From behind him, he hears Jeongin offer a “Hey! You’re not the only single one here, you know!” He smothers his laughter, waving goodbye at them before heading back to the comforts of his barracks. It’s been too fucking long since he’s slept fitfully, without worrying about any Ordinem troops hot on his heels, without worrying about what else he should say to Hyunjin, without worrying about anything, really.

As soon as his head hits the pillow, Jisung nuzzles his nose against his pillow, takes a whiff of the honey and lemon scent of the fabric, before promptly falling into a deep slumber for the night. That night, he dreams of stars, of planets, of a boy with long blonde hair and a knack for getting on his nerves, but somehow, in his dream, allows him to savour the most peaceful sleep he’s had in forever.

✴

It’s been two days since they’ve come home, and Jisung has not budged an inch from his bed.

Okay, _maybe_ that’s not humanly possible. Yes, he’s managed to yank himself out of bed to grab quick bites at the cafeteria and wash up in the bathroom, but beyond that, he’s been lounging around in his bed either watching documentaries or napping away. Changbin had given him a few days off, leaving Felix to fill in for him whilst Jisung recharged himself. And by recharging, he means eating every snack stowed away in the confines of his cupboards.

As Jisung crunches away happily on his flaming hot Cheetos while watching a funny romance comedy on the TV mounted to his wall, his wristwatch pings with a notification. He sets the bag of Cheetos down beside him before glancing at his watch, only to groan aloud.

**Sec. Lieut. Hwang**

When are you free to write the report?

The last time Jisung had seen him was at the office during their meeting with the colonel. Ever since then, Jisung has cooped himself up in the four walls of his barracks — the perfect scheme to avoid any run-ins with the second lieutenant himself. 

Jisung doesn’t know if he can even face him the same way again. For the past two nights, he’s been woken up from random scenes with Hyunjin. In the first dream, he’d been eating lunch with him, which had seemed pretty normal until dream Hyunjin had leaned in and pressed a chaste kiss against his cheek. And in the second dream, dream Jisung had been flying alongside dream Hyunjin aboard the Golden Ace, soaring through a kaleidoscope of stars, when dream Hyunjin had unbuckled his seatbelt and kissed dream Jisung awake. 

Granted, it should be a little weird to dream about your rival kissing you awake. Still, Jisung chalks it up to the fact that he’s still shaken by the accidental kiss they’d shared at the bar. He presumes the jittering of his heart and the curling of his toes are merely harmless side effects.

Sighing, Jisung types out a quick reply to him.

**Lieut. Han**

idk. maybe im free, maybe im not.

u can choose a time ig

**Sec. Lieut. Hwang**

You’re irrevocably infuriating even on your day off. I’m not surprised.

We can choose a time later, though… 

Have you received the email from the colonel yet?

Jisung frowns. He clicks over to his email inbox. Indeed, there’s a new email sitting there from the colonel himself. He opens it, scanning its contents. He’d be lying if he says he doesn’t gasp aloud at the email.

From: bangchan@seoullis.com

Subject: Meeting with the Governor

To: hanjisung@seoullis.com, hwanghyunjin@seoullis.com

Dear Lieutenants,

I hope this email finds you both well.

Governor Park has requested for your presence in the Grand Hall tonight at 2000 hours tonight. He wishes to impart his gratitude to the both of you personally.

Regards,

Colonel Bang

Befuddled, Jisung taps back to his messages.

**Lieut. Han**

the governor wants to see us? the GOVERNOR? in FORTY minutes?

**Sec. Lieut. Hwang**

I don’t know. Didn’t you read the email?

Or have you suddenly turned illiterate?

Jisung rolls his eyes. Why was he even worried about the effect the kiss would have on their working relationship? It was just like Hyunjin had said back then. _Forget what I said last night._ Hyunjin had barely given a reaction to the kiss, if one didn’t count the way he didn’t look Jisung’s way for the rest of the day, or the way he’d gazed at Jisung right after the kiss. 

**Lieut. Han**

kk wow. i get it. i’ll see u then. whatvr

What he’d predicted to have been a relaxing day was now shattered into pieces. Jisung grumbles as he scrambles off of the bed, much to the chagrin of his cracking joints and aching muscles. He tilts the last of the crumbs in the Cheetos bag down his throat, stuffs the empty bag into the trash can, and rushes to the bathroom to wash up.

He tries to brush the smell of Cheetos from his mouth as best as he can, before stalking over to his wardrobe. Without a moment’s hesitation, Jisung’s ripping his best suit from his hanger and trying it on. Once he’s done, he gives himself a quick once-over in his full-length mirror. His white shirt is tucked into a pair of black slacks. He yanks on a light blue tie, before donning on his grey blazer. 

After running a comb through his admittedly greasy hair, Jisung glances back down at his watch. It’s half past seven now. Maybe if he’s lucky, he can grab a quick bite at the cafeteria before meeting with the governor.

He slips out of his barracks. The moment he closes the door to his room, though, another man emerges from his own room. 

Jisung suppresses the groan from escaping his lips the second he turns around.

“Wow, what a coincidence,” Jisung drawls. “What are the odds of us coming out of our rooms at the exact same time?”

Hyunjin rolls his eyes as he clicks his door shut. Unlike Jisung, Hyunjin’s hair is immaculately slicked back and tied into a low bun, with several strands falling daintily and tucked behind his ears. He’s wearing a white shirt, white pants, and a matching grey tie and belt. His ensemble is completed with a grey blazer fitted to his proportions. Upon closer inspection, Jisung can see the dangling earrings falling from both ears, with a teardrop at the end of each.

Jisung ignores the sudden pounding in his eardrums. Probably just his heartbeat acting up again.

“The odds are slim, but so are the odds of you dressing like a decent human being,” Hyunjin preens, before sauntering off down the hallway. Jisung sighs inwardly, before trailing behind the other. 

They emerge from the barracks and head off towards the main building. The Grand Hall is usually only opened for banquet dinners or extravagant award-giving ceremonies (or for the craziest birthday bashes, aka that one time the colonel had somehow decided to throw a huge birthday party for Changbin in the hall, which had resulted in many, many drunk people, and an influx of absenteeism the following day). To think that Jisung is about to meet the Governor in the Grand Hall itself… his teeth begin to chatter violently beyond his control.

Hyunjin seems to sense his nervousness. As they stop in front of the silver double doors to the hall, he turns to face Jisung. “Are you really that nervous right now?” he asks.

“Well, it’s not every day you suddenly get to see the Governor,” Jisung points out. “I haven’t seen the Governor’s face since, like, the yearly award ceremony. And that was five months ago.”

For some reason, Hyunjin laughs. It’s not spiteful, either; it’s a heartfelt laughter that sends a chill down Jisung’s bones. “He’s just an aging old man in a golden robe,” he chortles. He raises his arm up and raps his fist against the doors. “Nothing scary to look at.”

The double doors are opened by several guards. They swivel to reveal the grandeur of the hall. The ceiling seems to stretch upwards for miles on end, the glass dome showing off the twinkling night sky. Moonlight beams through the glass and throws shadows upon the statues of their previous governors, mounted on the wall all around the circular hall. The pillars stand tall and firm, and Jisung takes a moment to admire the intricacy of the patterned walls. Every time he steps into the Grand Hall, it feels like the first time all over again.

When his eyes flit forward, he sees the Governor standing in the centre of the Grand Hall. Compared to the sheer size of the hall, the Governor seems like a mere speck, if not for his spiritual presence. There lies an invisible bubble around him as he holds his head high, smiling warmly at the two lieutenants inching closer towards him.

“I have been awaiting your arrival, lieutenants,” he grins. His voice is soothing, like honey. “It’s a pleasure to meet you two, Lieutenant Han, Second Lieutenant Hwang.”

The two of them bow down low, before straightening back up. “Evening, Governor,” Jisung greets. “It’s a pleasure to see you, too.”

Governor Park grins at the both of them. “I would like to take this opportunity to extend my gratitude to the both of you, for bringing home with you the last Gemma. It is of utmost importance that we’re able to have a bit of an upper hand over the Ordinem. Goodness knows if they had found the last Gemma first.”

Hyunjin frowns. “Since we have the last Gemma now, though, wouldn’t it put us more at risk of a more severe attack from the Ordinem?”

Behind Hyunjin’s back, Jisung pinches his arm and hisses, “Not now.” 

The Governor, though, doesn’t seem to mind. “That’s true, but the Ordinem doesn’t know that we have it, do they? They still assume we have only one. You managed to locate the tracker before you both jumped into hyperspace, according to Colonel Bang. Not only are you both diligent, you are also rather quick-witted.”

Jisung plasters on a smile as he receives a jut in the elbow from Hyunjin. _Bastard._

“Sadly, to keep this mission a secret, we can’t organise an award ceremony for the both of you,” the Governor sighs, “so I’ve decided to personally give a gift to you two.”

Curious, the two lieutenants lean in and watch as the Governor unfastens something from his wrist. It seems to be a golden bracelet from the looks of it. The Governor hands it to the both of them. “This is actually an heirloom, passed down from governor to governor. I have not found a purpose for it yet, but it carries with it a vast history that I am sure the two of you will appreciate. I would like you both to have it.”

Jisung blinks. “One bracelet for the two of us?” he asks.

Hyunjin kicks at his shin, and Jisung has to repress the yowl of pain from squeezing out of his lungs.

The Governor laughs. “I don’t think you understand how important this bracelet is,” he smiles. “It was made around 300 years ago during the time of our first Governor.”

300 years ago. Jisung frowns as he takes the bracelet from the Governor and turns it around in his hands. All along the band of the bracelet are indents carved into the gold. At first glance, it really does look like a bracelet, and nothing more.

On second thought…

Jisung gulps. No. Surely it can’t be true. His brain tries to reach out for something, a thought that seems so bewildering that it can’t possibly be true.

His mind jogs him back to the poem once more.

_One with the heart of gold,_

_One with the land stone cold,_

_One with the rich and bold,_

_One with the poor soul sold,_

_One with the curse once told,_

_All with the king foretold._

_All with the king foretold._ And surely, when the Gemma he had held in his hand had been so small-

When he glances up from the bracelet, neither Hyunjin nor the Governor seem to notice the shock on his face. “Governor Park,” Jisung gasps. “I just realised something.”

The Governor peers up, amused. “Realised what, Han?”

Jisung licks his chapped lips. A lump forms in his throat, a ball of nerves catching onto his words. “Do you remember the Prophecy? The poem? _All with the king foretold._ What does that mean? Who exactly _is_ the king?” Jisung feels his tongue running a mile a second, but he can’t seem to slow down, not when the idea in his head is so bizarre yet so… believable.

The Governor frowns. “I don’t understand, Han. Could you slow down a bit-”

A gunshot rings out in the middle of the hall. In a blink of an eye, the Governor howls in pain and collapses forward. Startled, Jisung grabs onto the man and steadies him. His eyes dart up to see the four guards standing by the door now raising their guns at them. What the…

Jisung glimpses back down at the Governor. He has to swallow his scream when he notices the bullet lodged in his upper arm. Another gunshot rings out, and Jisung braces himself for impact, only to realise the gunshot came from someone so near his body.

“Hyunjin, don’t-” His words die in his throat as Hyunjin precisely shoots at all four of the guards, sending them screaming and dropping to the floor in a matter of seconds. 

Jisung exhales shakily. Carefully, he lowers the Governor down to his knees, allowing him to rest first. “What the hell,” he murmurs.

Hyunjin swivels around, face pale. “Fuck,” he curses. “Something’s wrong here. Those guards are definitely _not_ ours.”

A thought passes Jisung’s head. “Minji,” he breathes. “Think about it. If Minji was able to sneak into our radars and pose as a technician for us for the past year, what if she could’ve done more? What if she had been able to sneak more people in?”

Hyunjin shakes his head furiously. “That doesn’t make sense. She’s locked up now.”

Jisung thinks back to their meeting with her in the hangars, her cheery, bubbly personality, her flirty self. And then he remembers how Minji had kissed the back of Hyunjin's palm. Instinctively, he grabs onto Hyunjin’s wrist and twists it around. At this, Hyunjin screeches. “What the fuck are you doing, you stupid asshat-”

“-Shit,” Jisung curses. On the underside of Hyunjin’s wristwatch is a small disc. Small, but not invisible. He hurriedly unlatches Hyunjin’s wristwatch and yanks the disc out from where it was attached to the fabric of his wristband. He doesn’t even wait for Hyunjin’s response before Jisung whips out his own wristwatch and points the face of his watch to the disc. “Seoullis, identify this foreign object. Now.”

Within seconds, a holographic web page blinks out. Jisung scans the words, his lungs constricting tighter and tighter with every passing second. “Tracker… Kim Minji… Voicebox…” Jisung gulps. “They’ve tracked us all along.”

“And they were able to hear what we said,” Hyunjin blinks. “Oh, fuck.”

The Governor peers up at them, confused. “What is going on here?” he demands.

As if on cue, the lights in the Grand Hall flicker off, and the emergency lights flash. A voice booms through the PA system, streaming out of the overhead speakers. “THE MOTHERBOARD IS UNDER ATTACK. I REPEAT, THE MOTHERBOARD IS UNDER ATTACK. WE HAVE BEEN COMPROMISED. THE ORDINEM HAS INVADED PAST OUR ATMOSPHERE. THE MOTHERBOARD IS UNDER ATTACK. CADETS, PLEASE MOVE TO THE HANGARS AND BE READY TO DEFEND THE MOTHERBOARD.”

Hyunjin grumbles, shoving his gun back into his holster. Jisung realises he hadn’t seen it at first glance, where it had been hidden under his grey blazer. “We need to move the Governor to safety first,” Hyunjin mutters. “Something is definitely up. How could the Ordinem be able to invade our atmosphere without us sensing them first?”

Jisung hurries to steady the Governor back on his feet. “Beats me,” he retorts. “C’mon, we need to get the Governor to the doctor, and fast. Hyunjin, make a swift call to the Colonel. Tell him the Governor is injured, that we have his bracelet, and-” He inhales, exhales shakily. “-to protect the Gemmas at whatever cost it takes.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> and sorry not sorry for the cliffhanger lololol


	5. chapter five

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> mentions of blood and gunshots here, but again, nothing gory! sorry if the whole ~fight scene~ is a little lacklustre, considering this is my first attempt at something with a little more action. hope u enjoy :DD

Once they’ve spotted Minho and quickly helped the Governor into the emergency room, Jisung and Hyunjin are off and running to the hangar. Jisung pants as they race down the long corridors. At the same time, his wristwatch blares loudly. He tilts the face of his watch up and swipes across the screen. 

The colonel’s voice booms through. “Lieutenant Han, I received Hwang’s message. Where is the Governor?”

“We got him to the hospital already,” Jisung says. “Colonel, I think Minji has compromised us further. Where is she?”

There’s a short pause. “Fuck. I’ll get back to you-” And then the call cuts off.

Jisung feels his knees buckle under him, but forces his legs to keep moving. Sweat begins to pour down the sides of his scalp. “Gosh, this is… Has the Ordinem invaded our atmosphere yet?”

Beside him, Hyunjin scans the Motherboard’s CCTV cameras right from his wristwatch. “It’s not good news,” he huffs. “Our troops have taken to the skies already, but it’s not looking up. There’s at least three, maybe four dozen ships descending upon us. We might have to get ready for hand-to-hand combat.”

They turn a sharp corner. Jisung practically trips over his feet. “About that,” he puffs, “why the hell were you carrying a gun around with you?”

Hyunjin laughs breathlessly. “Not a gun, silly. _Blaster._ And you know what they say: always be prepared,” he says. “After all, I saved our arses, didn’t I?”

“Damn right you did.” Jisung’s about to begin laughing at the absurdity of it all, too, when something clicks in his head. His eyes flicker down to the bracelet now latched around his wrist. His mind traces back to the Gemmas. “Hyunjin, stop.”

Hyunjin halts to a stop, frowning. “What, why? We need to get to the hangars now-”

“-The guards in the Grand Hall,” Jisung cuts him off. His hands feel antsy now, desperate to grab onto something to be sure of himself. “The tracker. If they could hear our conversation, then they know that we have the two Gemmas left, and now they know that we have-” He raises his wrist up for Hyunjin to see, “-this.”

For a moment, Hyunjin stares back at Jisung. His eyebrows are knitted together, clearly confused. “I don’t understand-”

“-Think, Hyunjin,” Jisung says. “ _All with the king foretold._ Look. This bracelet has indents, five of them.” He unclasps the bracelet and shows it off to Hyunjin. He twists it around, showing the five deep carvings into the gold. “The Gemmas are small. There are five Gemmas. Which means-”

“-that the king in question is _our Governor_ -”

“-who’s been holding onto the bracelet all this time, not knowing what to do with them. But since we know that the Gemmas are small-”

“-which means the Gemmas could fit into the bracelet-”

“-and with that,” Jisung breathes, “the Prophecy is met.”

In that space in time, Hyunjin’s thoughts exactly mirror those of Jisung’s. “Holy shit. You think anyone’s gone to the safe yet? I told the colonel, but judging from that call, he seems to be more concerned about Minji.”

Even in this haze of an unforeseen event, Jisung braves himself to grin. “To the safe we go, then.” But right as he swivels around, Hyunjin catches onto the sleeve of his blazer. Jisung opens his mouth to protest, until he feels cool metal land onto his palm. He glances down to look at the blaster, then back up at Hyunjin, who’s brandishing his own.

“I knew you wouldn’t be prepared,” Hyunjin gloats, but somehow, his voice is lighter, peppier. And somehow, Jisung relishes in that. “Now let’s go save ourselves a planet-”

“-you mean, the _Universe_ ,” Jisung corrects, grinning. With that, the both of them dart down the hallways towards the main safe in the building. 

✴

As they skid down the long corridor to the left wing of the building, where the safe is located, the emergency lights overhead begin flickering on and off. An alarm blares, ringing vibrantly in their eardrums. Jisung hisses as he covers his ears. “What the hell is going on now?”

Hyunjin’s eyes widen as he scans the CCTV cameras. “The Ordinem. They got into our hangars,” he blurts. “But how?”

“We were probably too late to take them in the skies,” Jisung grunts. “Let’s not get distracted. C’mon.” He yanks onto Hyunjin’s sleeve and drags him further down the hallway. They take the stairs two at a time and reach the landing, where the door to the safe is at their very end.

Jisung barely covers up the gasp in his throat when he notices two figures already standing before the safe. He hurriedly tugs Hyunjin to hide behind a pillar, and just in time — one of the figures swivels around, and Jisung could recognise that traitorous face anywhere by now.

“Get the Gemmas already, quick,” Minji hisses. Jisung peers around his shoulder, watching as her companion places a circular disc over the lock. The metal of the safe box melts under the disc, oozing and dripping to the floor. Almost instantly, something shiny throws light against the two Ordinem, shadowing their faces in its wake. 

A shudder runs down Jisung’s spine as Minji plucks the two Gemmas right out of the safe. “Perfect,” she grins wolfishly. She pats her companion’s back with one hand, the other curling around the two gems in her palm. “It was a good idea to put a tracker on the guy after all, huh? I can’t believe they didn’t even find out about it. That Hyunjin must be one nut case to have made our job so fucking easy.”

Jisung gulps. He peers over at Hyunjin, whose hands are curled into fists by his sides. “Don’t react,” he whispers. “Don’t listen to her words. They mean nothing.”

“They mean _something_ ,” Hyunjin hisses back. His hand hovers over the holster of his belt. “We can’t let them escape with the Gemmas.”

“What’s your master plan, then?” Jisung whispers. He gazes on at the two Ordinem, where Minji is admiring the two Gemmas in her hand. “Shoot them?”

Hyunjin grits his teeth, but nods. “Leave them alive. Not dead. But enough to make them immobilised.”

The venom is tightly laced in his voice, something dark and dangerous. Panic rises up Jisung’s chest. “Don’t fight with your emotions, Hwang,” he warns. “You know how that’s going to end up.”

To his surprise, though, Hyunjin flashes him a quick smile. His pearly white teeth shimmer in the dimly lit hallway. “Even if I do, I have you, don’t I?”

It takes a moment for Jisung to register that Hyunjin’s mirroring the exact words he’d said to him back at the bar, right before he’d kissed Hyunjin senselessly. It takes another moment for Jisung to register the shot rattling in his ears, followed by a scream. The lieutenant leaps out of his hiding spot, aiming right at the second Ordinem’s arm. Shoot, and the man’s crumbling to the ground.

Minji shrieks. Hyunjin had clearly shot her arm neatly, because she instantly lets go of the two Gemmas. Without a second’s hesitation, Jisung swoops under Hyunjin’s blastfire and scoops up the two gems into his hand. “Don’t mind if I do,” he whistles, scrambling back up to his feet. 

“I knew I shouldn’t have trusted you,” Hyunjin spits. His eyes are narrowed at Minji’s face. Terror is stricken across her face; clearly, the surprise attack had been effective enough. “Don’t try and chase us. I wouldn’t recommend that, unless you’d like to die.”

The harsh words leave something acrid in Jisung’s mouth, as if _he_ himself had just said those words. “Come on, let’s go,” he whispers. Hyunjin casts one last threatening look at them, before following behind Jisung, hot on his heels. They clamber down the stairs, stumbling back into the same hallway they’d come from, and meander their way through the connection of corridors.

“Okay, we have the Gemmas,” Hyunjin huffs. “What now?”

Jisung pants, making sure not to trip over and drop the Gemmas as they turn sharp corners. There aren’t any Ordinem troopers anywhere at the moment, suggesting that the opponents haven’t covered much ground on the Motherboard yet. “We need to get to somewhere safe,” he instructs. “We can’t let the Ordinem know that we have the Gemmas.”

“Where the fuck is safe right now? The Motherboard will be swarming with Ordinem troopers soon.”

For extra protection, Jisung slides the Gemmas into the front pocket of his slacks, leaving his other hand free. His other hand grips onto the blaster so tight, his knuckles turn bone white. His veins pop out. “The Grand Hall,” Jisung says. “The doors lock from the inside. They’re almost impenetrable.”

Hyunjin chuckles dryly. “I don’t know if you noticed just now,” he starts, “but I’d like to remind you that the Ordinem has some interesting contraption that can melt metal.”

The lieutenant turns around momentarily and gives his companion a look. “What other route would you take, then?”

Hyunjin falls silent. Finally, he relents. “The Grand Hall it is, then.”

However, by the next time they turn a corner, they have company right ahead of them. And not the good kind.

“Oh, shit,” Jisung curses.

Five Ordinem troopers swivel around in an almost synchronised, puppet-like movement. It takes only milliseconds for either side to process the people standing before them, and then all hell breaks loose. Jisung takes cover behind a pillar, shooting precisely at three of the masked troopers. Hyunjin dodges a laser shot and shoots down the other two troopers.

As soon as the fight had begun, it ends. 

Hyunjin gasps, shaking his head slightly. “That caught me by surprise,” he sighs out of relief. 

“Your body just moves like a reflex action,” Jisung chuckles. “That took me back to my trainee days, you know?”

For a while, the both of them laugh it out. Maybe it’s the craziness of the events that’s getting to their heads. Hyunjin’s the first to snap out of it, though, tugging on Jisung’s shirt to pull him back to reality. “What are we doing now?! Holy shit, let’s move!”

The two figures traipse down the corridors. Somehow, in this swirl of pumping adrenaline and high tension, the journey to the Grand Hall seems much longer than ever. They have another run-in with a gang of Ordinem troopers, but this time, they manage to hide out until the Ordinem round the corner. Flashy in their silvery white-and-grey armour, it’s relatively easy to detect them from the shadows against the plastered walls and the light reflected off of their bodies.

Within minutes, Jisung and Hyunjin have arrived close to the entrance of the Grand Hall. The double doors are still wide open, the same way that the two of them have left it in the first place. “We get inside the Hall, lock the doors, and connect with the colonel. Hopefully, our guys can conquer the Ordinem and save us afterwards.”

“Sounds like a risky plan,” Hyunjin sighs, “but a plan nonetheless.”

Cautiously, they scan the vicinity before rushing across the empty hallways. They reach the Hall, where the four guards are still lying down on the floor. A horrific realisation washes over Jisung. “You shot them in their vitals?!” he hisses.

Hyunjin blinks at him. “Why do you sound so shocked?” he asks innocently. “Would you rather the Governor die in our hands?”

“No, I just…” _I just didn’t realise you had such a good aim — no, not good._ Perfect.

“No time to talk now,” Hyunjin says. He rushes over to the control panel next to the double doors. “We need to shut this thing, now.”

They immediately get to work. Jisung hurriedly shoves the double doors close as fast as he can, whilst Hyunjin’s hand hovers over the control panel, ready to slam the locks down as soon as the doors close. Before Jisung can completely close them shut, though, a laser shot narrowly grazes his ear. “What the-”

Up ahead, in the narrow tunnel of vision left in the slit between the two doors, Jisung can see an army of troopers rushing up to them. Another laser shot whizzes past his head. “Fuck, they’re here!” Jisung shrieks, scrambling from the doors. And just in time, too — a dozen Ordinem troopers burst right through the doors, preceded by a man, distinguishable by the absence of his mask.

Jisung’s breath gets caught in his throat. He’s never met this man up close before, only from textbooks and documentaries. When the man turns to face them, his steely blue eyes barrel right into Jisung’s chestnut brown ones. He towers over him. A grim expression lays in the hard lines of his face. 

The Governor of the Ordinem. _Governor Atkins._

“Well, well, well,” he muses. His voice is especially deep, akin to Felix’s, but instead of the velvety, sweet tone, his voice is neutral, though somewhat mocking. “Look what we have here. Lieutenant Han. Second Lieutenant Hwang. I’ve heard a lot from you two.”

Jisung grits his teeth and raises his blaster at them. He hopes his trembling arms aren’t visible under the layers of clothing. He doesn’t even know _who_ to aim at. “Don’t you _dare_ take a step closer,” he hisses. 

Governor Atkins chuckles. “Oh, how cute,” he murmurs condescendingly. “Trying to scare me, huh? Well, I’ll have you know that you’re 2 to 12. Gonna be a hard fight, hm?” 

Out of his peripheral vision, Jisung notices the silver of Hyunjin’s own blaster. “It'll be a hard fight,” Hyunjin agrees, “but a fight we’re ready to put up with. And _win_.”

The mockery melts away from the Governor’s face, instead replaced with a stoic expression. “Kill them,” he orders.

There’s no time to think — they can only act. 

Jisung instantly slips behind a pillar, hiding behind the barrage of blastfire. He scoots around the corner, easily aiming at two straight on the get-go and gunning them down. Laser shots blaze through the air, ripping what could’ve been the tranquility of the night. Across the room, Hyunjin hides behind a pillar, too, shooting away at three in one go. 

The Governor watches on, bemused as the two lieutenants dodge shots and aim directly at the troopers. One by one, all of them fall to the ground like dominoes. Mustering up every ounce of courage, Jisung even leaps out from behind the pillar and shoots down the last trooper. 

Panting, Jisung swipes across his brow and glares up at the Governor. “Stand _down_ , Atkins,” he orders, his voice bouncing off of the walls of the hall. He circles around the Governor, now standing in the centre of the Grand Hall. On the other side, Hyunjin begins trudging around the Governor, too. The two of them are a pair of vultures, ready to strike down on the man right within their range.

Atkins chortles, his laughter bellowing and patronising. “Oh, you two are pathetically _adorable_ ,” he taunts. “This feels like an epic, a saga of a kind, doesn’t it? Two colleagues who vehemently hate each other to the very core, pitted against each other in the search of the last Gemma. They go through endless trials and tribulations, arguing over the pettiest of things, and the only thing that seems to cool them down is a kiss seared in their very hearts. How fucking adorable is that?”

Jisung feels his cheeks burn up. Fuck. Guess the Ordinem really heard everything that they said… and did.

Directly opposite him, Hyunjin remains unfazed. “You come here with only a dozen or so measly troopers,” he says, careful as he circles closer to the Governor. “You know that we could finish them all off by ourselves. Tell us, Atkins. What is your plan here?”

At this, Atkins arches an eyebrow. “Interesting. You really are clever, aren’t you?” he muses. Without any warning whatsoever, Hyunjin crumbles to the floor, screaming. His blaster skids across the floor, several inches away from his hand as Hyunjin grips his arm in agony. His eyes widen from the sheering pain coursing through his body. 

Shocked, all thoughts fly right out of Jisung’s head as he races over to Hyunjin. He squats down on the floor, confused as he scans Hyunjin for any gunshots. None. His eyes flicker back up to the Governor, whose arm is raised up in defiance.

No way. There’s no way that it’s possible, and yet-

“-No,” Jisung mutters. “This can’t be. You… _No one_ has been able to wield the Force in forever.”

According to the thousands of archives that Jisung has read, the Force had disappeared for forever almost a millennium ago. All the Jedis had been wiped out for good. There is no way that Atkins, the very embodiment of evil, is able to use the Force. As far as Jisung knows, that has only ever happened in movies. Documentaries. Old VHS tapes he’d dug out of his attic.

A dangerous glimmer shines in Atkin’s eyes. “Surprise, surprise.” 

Jisung doesn’t even have time to be shocked. He’s crouching over Hyunjin’s writhing body one second, and the next, he feels hard brick crushed against his back. Jisung gasps as he feels an invisible weight crashing down onto him, shoving him up against the patterned wall of the hall. He struggles. Hard. He forces his feet down onto the ground, but as soon as the tip of his shoe touches the marble floor, he’s lifted up higher against the wall.

He tries to steady his quickening heartbeat. “ _Stop_ ,” he winces. “What the hell do you want?” 

Atkins swivels around, both arms raised. One is raised in Hyunjin’s direction, the other in Jisung’s. Despite the sheer strength of the brute force weighing him down, the governor doesn’t seem to break a sweat at all. “Oh, you know exactly what I want,” he says lowly. “The Gemmas, please.”

Jisung snorts. “As if I’d give them to you so easily,” he spits.

The governor raises an eyebrow. “Well,” he says, “Is that really the case?”

Out of the blue, the double doors to the hall slam shut, and Jisung hears the resounding _click!_ of the locks. Before Jisung can process anything, he hears Hyunjin screaming, loud and high-pitched. His heart plummets to the ground as he can only watch on in horror, at Hyunjin squirming on the floor and clutching his arm, at Hyunjin in an unfathomable degree of pain.

Hyunjin can’t even form words in his mouth. “Stop-” He cries louder. “-Just stop! Please!”

Tears well up in Jisung’s eyes. Hyunjin is right there, _right there,_ and here Jisung is, stuck to the wall and unable to budge even an inch closer. “Stop it, Atkins,” Jisung growls. When Hyunjin continues screaming in pain, something tears through Jisung’s chest, igniting a fire so ferocious he can’t seem to tame the flames. “I said _stop it_ , Atkins!”

Atkins lowers his left arm, leaving Hyunjin gasping for breath and grabbing loosely onto his right arm — his shooting arm. Jisung lets out a shaky breath. His eyes flick back to Atkins, who has begun walking closer and closer to the lieutenant held against the wall. “Well, I’ve stopped his pain,” he simpers. Atkins inches closer, and closer, like a tiger creeping closer to its prey, ready to pounce and strike down on gold. “Now. The Gemmas.”

Jisung gulps down his nerves. “ _Never_ ,” he hisses. His hand darts out, clutching tight onto the blaster, and shoots. Twice. He doesn’t even have time to register how Atkin’s free hand reaches out, flicking his arm in an outwards direction, sending the laser shot flying — right in Hyunjin’s direction. 

“No!” Jisung shrieks, but it’s too late. One blast hits Hyunjin’s right arm, the other in his upper chest, and if Hyunjin had screamed loudly just now, the wrecked sound that is squeezed out of his lungs is downright horrific. The tears that had built up in Jisung’s eyes spill over in torrents. “No, no, no! Fuck!”

“Now, now,” Atkins sighs. “That was an amateur move, wasn’t it?” He glances over his shoulder at Hyunjin, clutching his now bloody arm. His face is contorted, scrunched up, the suffering evident in his tear-sodden face. “The _Gemmas_ , Han. Before I shoot your dear lover’s other arm.”

Jisung cries out something incoherent. All he can see is red. He wants so desperately to _move_ , to rush to Hyunjin’s side, but all he can do is watch pathetically from the sidelines, like the pathetic, so-called hero he is. He thrashes against the marble walls and screams. “You imbecile,” Jisung screeches. “You and your fucked up mentality. Bringing all your dozen troopers here for us to kill, when you knew you didn’t have to. Twisting his arm up and shooting him. You deserve a place in _hell_.”

At last, the governor faces Jisung eye to eye. All that separates them is a few inches. Jisung is only a few inches shy of smashing the monster’s face into smithereens. So close, so, so close. “Maybe I do,” Atkins mutters, breath fanning across the other’s face. “But you wouldn’t be around to see it, I suppose.”

With a flick of his wrist, Atkins turns Jisung’s front pocket inside out. Jisung scrambles for the Gemmas, but it’s too late — the gems tumble right into Atkin’s palms. In an instance, their shine disappears underneath his grubby fingers. 

Jisung curses under his breath. His gaze lifts to rival against Atkin’s calm expression. “Now, Han,” Atkins whispers. “Where is the last piece?”

“The… last piece?” Genuinely confused, Jisung blinks back at the Governor. “What piece?”

Atkins rolls his eyes. He pockets the Gemmas into the front pocket of his robe, before extending his arm backwards. On cue, Hyunjin shrieks. His howls ricochet off of the walls as he grasps onto his bloodied arm. 

Jisung snarls. “Stop it, Atkins!” he screeches, right into his face. “I _really_ don’t know what you’re talking about!”

The man’s eyes darken over, a storm overtaking what could’ve been the serene cool blue of his irises. “I want the bracelet,” he hisses. “The one your dear Governor gave you himself. Now, where is it?”

Jisung realises, with a wave of relief and panic, that the bracelet on his wrist is hidden under the hem of his sleeve. (The blazer is his brother’s, after all. It’s oversized, but he’s never been so grateful for it than now.) “Why? Why do you want it so bad?”

Atkins turns his arm, slowly. Hyunjin’s shrills even louder. And yet, he stares back at Jisung with pleading eyes, as if to say _Don’t give it to him. Don’t._ He grits his teeth and shakes his head furiously. _Don’t give it to him!_ he mouths.

Trapped between the devil and the deep blue sea, Jisung can only glimpse back at Atkins. His heart races faster and faster, pounding so loud that he wonders if the Governor can hear it in this deafening silence. He realises, that with every attack he makes, the counter-effects will only be inflicted upon Hyunjin in turn. He realises, that if he has to hurt the Governor, he has to hurt Hyunjin, too.

He realises, that if he has to kill the Governor, the Governor will kill Hyunjin first.

“Why do I want it so bad, huh?” Atkins chuckles humourlessly. “You know it just as much as I do, Han. No one knows what the Gemmas do, but tell me, what does this conquest promise? Power. It’s just as you said — why separate the Gemmas in the first place for everyone else to find?

“Because they’re useless when they’re apart,” Atkins sneers, “but perfect when they’re together.”

Something about those words chills Jisung down to the marrow in his bones. His breath hitches in his throat. Instinctively, he glances beyond Atkin’s shoulder to look at Hyunjin. He has to suppress the surprise on his face as Hyunjin inches closer to the blaster on the floor.

Atkins seems to catch on, though. “Oh, Hwang Hyunjin, you really think I can’t predict what’s going on in that pretty head of yours, hm?” he guffaws. His free hand reaches out again, and this time, Hyunjin gasps as his leg spasms beneath him. He stops moving forward, groaning as he seizes his leg in his arms. 

The emotions swirling in Jisung’s gut threaten to break down the dam. He struggles to lean forward, but before he can shoot the Governor again, his eye catches Hyunjin’s. This time, they don’t hold the look of desperation — they carry a warning. 

Colonel Bang’s words echo once more in his mind. _This isn’t simply a mission about your ability to decipher clues or locate the Gemma — it’s a test of your mental strength._

Jisung gazes back at Hyunjin, his eyes locked in a stare so strong Hyunjin doesn’t even blink. Without breaking eye contact, Jisung hisses, “You’ve got eyes on the back of your head, huh, Atkins?”

Atkins chortles. “I feel everything around me,” he grins, a sickening smile spread across his face. “Every move you make, I can sense it a millisecond before you even budge an inch.”

For once, Jisung is glad Atkins is so close to his face; he knows the Ordinem Governor can’t see the way he’s staring back at Hyunjin from that angle. Very subtly, Jisung peers down at his wrist, then back up again. “How can you even wield the Force?” Jisung whispers, keeping his voice terrified, submissive. “No one’s done it for forever.”

Ahead of them, Hyunjin clenches his teeth together from the pain coursing through his veins, but he nods. 

He knows.

“I’ve been able to since I was born.” Smug, Atkins seems to let his guard down. Jisung keeps his up. He doesn’t know if the Governor is full of himself, or a disgustingly good actor. “You peasants think that the Force disappeared along with all the Jedis. You scumbags think it’s folklore, a fable by now. Listen to me, child. With my powers, and with the Prophecy in my hands, I’ll be unstoppable.”

Jisung’s inner instinct is to kick the man in the balls to shut him up. He squashes down the temptation, instead allowing the colonel’s words to rush back into the front of his head. _Sometimes, I realise your mind and the rest of the body aren’t wired, and your body tends to move faster than you can think._

He focuses his thoughts on the words spewing out of the other’s mouth. “Unstoppable?” he quizzes, feigning interest. “Completely?”

Hyunjin’s left hand budges closer to the blaster.

“Completely,” Atkins confirms. His grin has now sharpened into a haughty laugh. “The Universe would be in my hands.”

As soon as Jisung lifts up his right hand, Atkins stretches his arm back. A scream resounds from behind them. “I’d say you put down that blaster, child,” Atkins threatens, “or I’ll finally twist your little lover’s right arm, crack it, break it. I’ll give him a nightmare worse than dying. I’ll make sure he’ll live without ever being able to fight anymore. And what would everyone say? The great Hwang Hyunjin, son of the late so-called prodigy that was Captain Hwang, is a loser after all.”

Jisung can see the way the other lieutenant freezes at those words. Desperation fills his lungs. _Don’t listen to his words,_ he chants to the Hyunjin in his head. _Don’t listen to a word he’s saying._

Jisung clears his throat. He diverts the topic immediately. “I think I should make this clear,” he says, “but he’s not my lover. Or whatever.”

The Governor snorts. “Of _course_ he isn’t,” he taunts, sarcastic. “Just like how I’m _not_ going to steal that bracelet right from your wrist right now.” Jisung keeps up with the act, plastering a look of shock on his face, just to see the pure satisfaction on Atkin’s face, thinking that he’d rendered the lieutenant speechless.

And it’s just like Atkins said. Jisung can see the tiniest of movements of Atkin’s hand jerking forward, releasing the Force on Hyunjin’s arm. Like in a slow-motion clip, he watches as Hyunjin’s hand grabs onto the blaster and raises it up to the air. 

The colonel’s words echo in his mind one last time.

 _On the other hand, Hwang takes risks, but_ calculated risks.

Jisung smirks. “Or will you?”

Everything happens in a streak of a blur. Jisung shoves his knee upwards, violently crashing against the Governor’s crotch. Atkins howls, and Jisung knows the exact moment his concentration falters; the Force loosens its grip on pressing him against the wall. He feels the bracelet in his hand loosening from Atkin’s initial grasp on it.

In a calculated move, Jisung catches onto the opened band of the bracelet. He tosses it into the air. He tosses it high in the air, _blindly_. He watches it sail across the air in the hall, a stroke of gold winking back at him — before it dissipates into an explosion of smoke.

Atkins turns around and screams. His eyes practically bug right out of his skull. “No, no, no!” he shrieks. All he can do is watch the bracelet shatter into a million pieces, clattering to the ground in satisfying chinks. Before he can launch himself at Hyunjin, though, Jisung shoots both of the man’s arms, sending him tumbling to the ground.

The Governor of the Ordinem yowls in pain. “Fuck you!” he cries. “Fuck-” His hands scramble for his front pocket, and all five of the Gemmas spill out of the fabric. Jisung gasps as he watches all five of the gems begin to crumble and crack, the smooth facets fracturing and rupturing into nothing but crystallic dust.

With the bracelet shattered and the Gemmas disintegrated, the Prophecy is broken. Forever. 

“No, no, _no_!” The Governor roars, torn between pain and fury as he crushes the dusty remains of the Gemmas in his open palms. 

Jisung plants a boot firmly on Atkin’s chest, blaster poised right over his heart. “Game over, Atkins,” he hisses. “Forget the Prophecy. It’s over. It’ll never be met.”

He braves himself to stare down the Governor. He glares back at the pair of cold blue eyes. Yet, inside of him, the satisfaction that justice had been served rises up his chest. 

And, gosh, Jisung thanks all the heavens when he hears the double doors smashing open. His eyes flick up to see Colonel Bang at the forefront of an army of cadets. Captain Seo leads a group of cadets forward, blasters aimed right at Atkins. As they begin to crowd up to the Governor, Jisung moves his foot from his chest.

His legs move faster than his brain. He rushes over to Hyunjin, who’s laid down on the ground, clutching onto his arm. “Hyunjin, _fuck_ , I’m so sorry,” Jisung whispers. He can’t even look at Hyunjin in the eye as the guilt begins to sink deep into his bones. “I shouldn’t have let him torture you like that, fuck. And-” 

He blinks, scanning for the second shot from his blaster. All he can see is the blood from Hyunjin’s arm. “-I swore I shot twice though?”

Hyunjin wrenches his sluggish eyelids open. “Han,” he whispers, voice hoarse from his screaming. His face still shows the after-effects of the affliction that the damned Ordinem Governor had inflicted upon him. 

And then he says the most bewildering thing ever. “Strip me.”

Jisung does a double take. His jaw almost drops to the floor. “What? _Now_?” Jisung splutters. He feels heat shoot up to the tips of his ears. “Don’t tell me that Atkins asshole did something to your brain, too. I can’t- You can’t be-”

“-Jisung,” Hyunjin sighs. Despite the pain he’s suffering through, he still manages to roll his eyes back at the lieutenant. “Get your head out of the fucking gutter. Just take off my shirt.”

Hesitantly, Jisung’s fingers hover over the buttons of the man’s shirt. He yanks down the tie before fumbling with the buttons. Once he’s unbuttoned down to his waist, he’s met with something other than the bare skin he’d expected. “Oh.” His heart begins to settle down. “ _Oh._ ”

Hyunjin snorts. He pushes the cloth of his shirt back further, exposing the dark bulletproof vest wrapped tightly, secured over his chest. “Yeah, _oh_ ,” he teases. “Like I said. Always be prepared.”

For once, Jisung lets himself laugh. Hyunjin does, too, but stops when he accidentally moves his right hand. “Fuck,” he curses. “I think he did a number on my arm. And my leg.”

Jisung’s eyes glaze over. “If he actually did, I’ll kill him in a heartbeat,” he hisses. He means it. 

Hyunjin smiles back up at Jisung. Despite the turmoil that had thrown them into a whirlwind, Jisung feels a billion butterflies erupt into a vigorous dance in his stomach at the other’s smile. “I’ll count you on that,” he grins. He supports himself up on his left arm, and without warning, kisses Jisung’s sweaty chin lightly. 

Stunned, Jisung lifts his fingers to his chin. He blinks, dumbfounded, as Hyunjin lowers himself back down. “You did good, Han. I’ll admit I’m a little jealous.”

“ _You’re_ jealous?!” Jisung blinks. “You shot the bracelet right in the bullseye! With your left hand!”

“If it makes you feel any better,” Hyunjin laughs, “I’m ambidextrous.”

“Oh, because that _definitely_ makes me feel less jealous,” Jisung retorts. 

All around the two of them, chaos continues to ensue. Ten cadets tie the Governor down, who doesn’t even fight against his own defeat. A dozen nurses burst into the Grand Hall, carrying a stretcher with them. Shouts fill the expanse of the Grand Hall, but amidst all the chaos, the two victors gaze at each other fondly, happily.

Before Hyunjin’s eyelids slide shut from lethargy, he whispers, “You think my dad will be proud?”

Jisung grazes his hand up to cup the other’s face, and leans close. He knows Hyunjin won’t hear him, but he says it anyways. “You put the One-Shot Hotshot’s reputation to shambles,” he whispers. He presses a kiss against the tip of his unfairly perfect nose. “Your dad will be so proud of you.”

As Hyunjin is carried away in the stretcher, Jisung swears he catches the ghost of a smile on his lips.

✴

The next few days are a blur. Jisung passes in and out of different settings, different rooms, different environments. Between the investigations with Minji and Governor Atkins, he visits Hyunjin and the other injured cadets in the hospital. 

Most nights, he lays awake on his bed as his mind replays everything over and over again. Everything, from their first meeting in the office with the Colonel, to their discovery in the library and their meeting with Minji at the hangars; from their journey aboard the Golden Ace to Ilsanis to finding Younghyun at the bar; from their argument in the motel to their kiss in the bar; from their meeting with Jaehyung to their return home to the Motherboard; from their fight with Atkins to the crumbling of the Gemmas right before Jisung’s eyes. 

From the look of satisfaction beaming up from Hyunjin’s face, to the smile that had found its way to his lips.

On the fifth successive day of sleeplessness, Jisung scrambles out of bed and stuffs his feet into a pair of bunny slippers. He doesn’t care that he’s practically underdressed in his bathrobe as he slips out of his room. Nighttime has fallen over their heads, inducing the Motherboard to her sleep. 

He shivers slightly from the cold breeze licking into the confines of the building. He trudges down the long hallways, and up several flights of stairs, until he emerges on the fifth floor of the Motherboard. He hasn’t come up here for a while now. Back in his trainee days, when Jisung was at his breaking point, he’d discovered this little treasure trove all by himself: a balcony overlooking the heart of the main city of Seoullis. 

Jisung wraps the bathrobe tighter around his body. He definitely should’ve changed into something else before coming out here, but the thought dissipates into nothing once his eyes land on the skies before him. The dark canopy of the sky drapes across the entire expanse of the space above his head, sewn with the most glorious of illuminating stars. He walks closer to the ledge, before laying his arms on the metal railing and gazing up at the sky.

Jisung lets out a shaky breath, before ducking his head down to stare at the skyscrapers that seem to climb for the skies. Rows of houses are pressed close to each other. The roads seem to wind endlessly throughout the city in rivers, with the odd car or two whizzing down the belly of the metropolis.

“Jisung?”

Startled, Jisung turns his head sharply to his right. Standing there, overlooking the city, is another man dressed in a loose-fitting shirt and baggy black pants. To his surprise, he recognises the man to be- 

“-Colonel Bang?”

The colonel laughs heartily. He shuffles over to where Jisung is standing, a grin splayed across his face. “Please don’t call me that out of work hours,” he chuckles. 

In all his years here, Jisung has never seen Chan out of his work clothes, let alone seen him brooding all by himself in Jisung’s very own hideout spot. “Oh, sorry Chan,” Jisung apologises. He feels his cheeks flushing with heat. 

Chan smiles for a bit longer, before turning his head back to face the city. “You seem deep in thought,” he muses. “I noticed you the moment you came out here onto the balcony, but you didn’t even register my presence. What’s invading your thoughts?”

Jisung sighs and shrugs. “A lot of things,” he mutters. “Too many things, to be honest.”

“I get you,” Chan says. At this, Jisung peers at the colonel in confusion. “I’m out here because I can’t sleep either. It’s sort of like everything is clouding your head like cotton, and you feel so… stuffed.”

Jisung mulls over this for a while. For the past few days, he’s seen the colonel more stressed than ever, what with the constant investigations and the daily check-ups on the other cadets and lieutenants that had been caught in the whirlwind of an attack from the Ordinem that day. “I understand,” he murmurs. “It must be a lot.”

“A lot, yeah,” Chan chuckles dryly. He cards a hand through his greasy hair, sighing to himself. “I feel like I’m to blame for a lot of this, you know? Security should’ve been tighter. Success shouldn’t have gotten to my head. Things shouldn’t have gotten to my heart. If I had concentrated more, maybe we could’ve apprehended Minji far earlier in the year, and maybe we could’ve avoided that entire fiasco with the Ordinem-”

“-Colonel,” Jisung interrupts. When Chan gives him a look, he stutters over his words. “Uh, I mean, Chan,” he corrects. “I don’t think you should blame yourself for all that. After all, Minji is a Class A technician. How could we have figured out that she’d hacked into our main system and sabotaged us from the inside? How could we have noticed when she was so discreet about things? It’s an unfortunate turn of events, but…” Jisung smiles. “In the end, we still managed to do what we needed to do: we prevented the Prophecy from ever being met.”

For a long while, Chan stares at Jisung inquisitively, as if the latter had sprouted a new pair of arms or something. Finally, Chan chuckles. “Felix _is_ right,” he considers. “You are quite a thoughtful person. I appreciate your comforting words.”

“They aren’t really comforting,” Jisung admits. “I’m merely stating the facts.”

Chan laughs even harder. Under the shine of the moonlight, he actually looks younger than Jisung had expected. The hard lines of his face vanish as his eyes curl up into a pair of crescents, his nose all scrunched up and a noticeably significant dimple popping out on his right cheek. “You’re naive, Han. I like that,” Chan says, once his laughter has ebbed away.

Jisung fidgets with the hem of his shirt, not knowing what to say next.

“I never asked you how the mission itself went,” Chan says. He cocks his head sideways in Jisung’s direction. “I do notice something’s changed, though.”

Jisung frowns. “Something’s changed? About me?” he wonders aloud.

“No, no, not you,” Chan shakes his head. He purses his lips together. “More like something has changed between you and Hwang.”

Oh, Governor forbid. The last person Jisung wants to talk about, and yet the first person Jisung always thinks about. Jisung wants a black hole to open up beneath him and swallow him up. “Nothing’s changed,” he fumbles over his words, desperate to pick out the right ones. Yet, his mind is a jumble of incoherent words strung together into incoherent sentences. “Nothing at all. We’re still bickering. And stuff.”

On the most part, that’s technically half-true. Every time Jisung visits Hyunjin’s room in the hospital, Hyunjin will always comment something snarky at him. The thing that scares Jisung, though, is how there’s no longer any bite to his bark. 

It scares Jisung immensely, rendering him sleepless at night.

“Really?” Chan hums. “From what I saw that day when we walked into the Grand Hall, _something_ seems to have changed.”

Jisung licks his chapped lips. His throat suddenly feels parched. “It was a sign of… concern for a colleague,” Jisung protests. “There’s nothing intimate about it at all."

“Oh, but I didn’t say anything about intimacy, Han,” Chan says, arching an eyebrow in amusement. “You brought that all up by yourself.”

Jisung gulps. He’s only digging his own grave deeper and deeper now. “I just-” He cuts himself off, though, worried he’ll say something worse.

The colonel seems to notice this, and simply pats Jisung’s head. “I don’t know what happened between the both of you during the mission,” he begins, “but I know something has changed in your relationship with him. When I saw you both in the hall, and in the hospital, I’ve realised there’s been a shift of understanding between the both of you. 

“Most of the time, when I heard something about a fight or an argument that had occurred between the both of you from the others, I would realise something similar about them all,” Chan continues. “You two are rather similar, too similar in fact.”

Jisung makes a face. “ _What_? How are we similar to each other?” he blurts.

“The both of you have a common goal,” Chan points out. “You two always want to prove your own worth. For you, I assume it’s for your own pride and joy. For Hyunjin, it’s for his self esteem, his self-actualisation. And when one of you realises the other is better, well, everything seems to break down.”

Embarrassed, Jisung hides his blushing cheeks under the sleeves of his bathrobe. “Where are you going with this?” he utters, voice quiet.

“I’m saying,” Chan says, “that you should push your pride aside and accept whatever you’re feeling for him.”

Somewhere in the distance, a car honks loudly. “What?!” Jisung splutters. His breath hitches in his throat, and he coughs violently into his fist. “No way, haha! Nice joke, Colonel Bang- shit, I mean Bang Chan- wait, I mean, uh, just Chan-”

“-Jisung,” Chan sighs. He ruffles up Jisung’s messy hair with a sigh, as a father would do to his son. “You’re literally in the hospital room with Hyunjin every living second in your wake. I’ve seen the way you look at him, and the way he looks at you. It’s not nothing.”

As if to aggravate the situation further still, Jae’s words permeate through Jisung’s thoughts once more. _He doesn’t feel nothing for you._

“I don’t feel anything for him,” Jisung says. He swallows the lump in his throat. “Well, at least, I don’t _think_ I feel anything for him.”

Chan narrows his eyes at the younger man. “Did something happen during the missions?” he asks. When he doesn’t receive a reply, Chan snorts. “You actually took my advice to heart, huh?”

“No!” Jisung shakes his head hard. “No, we didn’t fuck. I mean, we talked. A bit. And something happened. But we didn’t fuck! At all! No fucking took place!”

“But _something_ happened,” Chan persists, “and something’s changed.” He turns on his heel, ready to leave. “Jisung, I’ve always admired how go-getter you are while on duty. I think it’s time that attitude followed you along in your own personal life, lest you regret the opportunities you don’t take.”

Jisung frowns at how cryptic the other’s words seem. “Uhhhh, okay?” he blinks.

The colonel smiles, salutes at Jisung, before striding off back into the building. Befuddled, Jisung turns back to the city and gazes at the concrete jungle that stretches out beyond the eye can see. Considering how ambiguous the colonel’s words had seemed, he can’t seem to shake them out of his head. So he lets those thoughts consume him, basking in them as he stares out into the hundreds of buildings spread across the expanse of his view. 

That night, Jisung does eventually sleep, slipping into a dream of him holding another man in his arms, a man whose long hair tickles his nose and whose smile sends his heart aflutter.

✴

On the seventh night of sleeplessness, Jisung has had enough. 

He throws on a baggy shirt and sweatpants, and stuffs his feet into the bunny slippers. He feels tempted to go back out to the balcony once more, but even the fresh night air can’t cure his insomnia. Jisung thinks of going somewhere else, somewhere further down the Motherboard. 

And, like Colonel Bang has said, Jisung’s body moves faster than his brain can think. Within minutes, he’s emerging in the only building left alight in the Motherboard.

The nurse at the front desk notices Jisung’s presence and smiles. “Good evening, Lieutenant. It’s a little late to be out and about, isn’t it?” she asks, scanning him from tip to toe. It’s obvious she’s trying not to laugh at the bunny slippers.

Jisung chuckles. “It is,” he agrees. “I’d just like to visit Hyunjin.”

The nurse nods. “You know where he is.”

With that, Jisung takes off down the long corridor. He passes Governor Park’s room, the first one in the long row. The lights in his room are flickered off, signalling that he’s asleep. The next few rooms are dark, too. 

He stops short in front of Room 0325. He peers in, frowning when he realises the lights are off. Still, Hyunjin had said before that Jisung could let himself in at any time, and now, Jisung takes full advantage of that. He’ll have the leverage over the second lieutenant if the latter protests against his arrival.

Jisung slowly slides the door open, careful not to make a sound. He slips into the room and clicks the door shut behind him. The room isn’t totally dark, thanks to the night light glowing on the bedside table. (When Felix had brought the night light over on the first day, Jisung couldn’t help teasing Hyunjin about it. “Shut up,” Hyunjin murmured, trying to hide his blushing cheeks behind the bedsheets.)

Cautiously, Jisung sits down on the plastic chair next to the bed. The night light frames his face, peaceful in his slumber. His eyelashes barely graze against milky skin. His lips are parted, plush and pink. The gentlest of snores gurgle from his throat, and Jisung tries his best not to laugh aloud.

He peers down until they’re eye-to-eye. For the past few days, he’s been thinking so much that he thinks his head might burst. The thought that keeps bugging him most, though, is the kiss he’d received on his greasy chin that day. Subconsciously, Jisung allows his hand to brush over his chin once more.

“Hyunjin,” Jisung whispers. His voice is low, too low for Hyunjin to detect. He knows for a fact that the other is a deep sleeper, judging from how he wouldn’t wake up for a check-up the other day until the nurse had shaken his left arm almost violently. 

He wonders if he should walk away from here, lest he say anything he regrets. Maybe, if he walks back to the barracks and lies down on the bed, he’ll somehow fall asleep. But the weight in his chest is far too heavy to haul up on his own — and the only way to get rid of it is to admit its existence, admit the existence of his thoughts and his impending feelings.

Jisung tucks a stray strand of hair behind Hyunjin’s ear. “You look so peaceful when you sleep,” he rambles. “I honestly haven’t seen you this peaceful in forever. You’ve always been… brazen, and energetic, and flamboyant, ever since the day I met you.”

No reply. Of course.

Still, Jisung continues. “You told me to forget whatever you told me that night, back in that motel in Seongnam,” he sighs. “Yet, I can’t help but think about it, you know? I know you don’t want my pity. I won’t take pity on you anyways, because you’re strong. You might’ve frozen up when I asked you to jump us into hyperspace, you might’ve cracked under pressure once or twice, but in the moment that I needed you most, you stayed strong. Vigilant.”

Jisung smiles. “You’re magnificent.”

His fingers have begun ghosting over the features he’s starting to hate less and like more: his eyebrows, his nose, his chin. His lips. “It’s a little ridiculous, really,” Jisung murmurs. “Yet, I think that even if I didn’t find out who you were, whose son you were, I’d still be every bit amazed by you as I am now. You just have that effect, you know?”

Hyunjin snores in response. Jisung giggles. 

“I didn’t think you’d catch onto what I wanted to convey to you that day with Atkins,” Jisung says. “When I looked at you, I was praying you’d hear my thoughts. And then you did. And then you fired right at the bracelet. It’s honestly kinda scary; I’m half-convinced you’re a robot.”

His heart swells under his chest, so full it’s fit to burst. His heart is a hummingbird, flapping its wings vigorously, ferociously, against the cage of his ribs. His heart threatens to break free and finally make itself known to the man before his eyes.

Jisung stamps down on the overwhelming feeling blossoming beyond the confines of his ribcage. “You’re more than just the shadow of your dad,” he assures to the sleeping Hyunjin. “You’re more than just the son of a prodigy. You are your own person, your own selfless self. You’re annoying, prideful, and an irritating hell of a person, but you’re also courageous, intelligent, talented and hardworking.”

As a lingering thought, Jisung adds softly, “And unfairly gorgeous.”

He gulps down hard, so hard he wonders if Hyunjin can hear his Adam’s apple bob up and down in his sleep. “And as dumb as this sounds,” Jisung whispers, “I think I’m falling for you.”

There. He’s said it. The weight in his chest is lifted. In an instance, he feels lighter than he has in the past seven days. 

Satisfied, Jisung stands from his seat. He thinks he’ll be able to sleep tonight. As soon as he turns to leave, though, he feels a hand latch around his wrist.

Jisung squeezes his eyes shut. 

_Seoullis and stars, fuck._

Maybe, if Jisung closes his eyes long enough, the hand attached to the body sleeping on the bed will conform into a figment of his imagination. Maybe, if Jisung closes his eyes long enough, he can somehow magically unsay all the words he’d said. 

Instead, he hears Hyunjin clear his throat behind him. “Jisung?”

Jisung braces himself for the onslaught barrage of humiliation, and turns around slowly. “Uh. Hey, Hyunjin! I was just dropping by to visit, y’know, because I couldn’t fall asleep,” he blabbers. “How’s your arm feeling? Your leg? You’re going to do some therapy thingie in the morning, right-”

“-Jisung,” Hyunjin sighs. His eyelids hang low from lethargy, but his irises still twinkle in the dark. “I heard everything you said.”

Jisung gulps. “Uh.” He glances down at Hyunjin’s fingers, where they’re wrapped around his wrist. He stares down at his knuckles, his cuticles. “Um. I-I thought you were asleep.”

Torn between running away and wanting the ceiling to collapse onto him, Jisung bites down hard on his lower lip and readies himself for anything. Maybe Hyunjin will shout at him. Or be disgusted at him. Or laugh ridiculously at him and reveal that he’d been recording Jisung the whole time and now has blackmail over him. 

The last thing he expects Hyunjin to say, though, is “I’m glad I wasn’t asleep, so I could hear all of that”.

Stunned, Jisung clamps his mouth shut and glimpses up. Hyunjin smiles gently at the other. He tugs lightly on his wrist, urging him to come closer. When he does, he hovers over Hyunjin. “What do you mean?” Jisung whispers.

“I mean exactly what I said,” Hyunjin replies. His voice is deep, hoarse from sleep, and yet rattles deep in Jisung’s bones. “I’m glad I heard all that, because frankly, I’m scared.”

“Scared?” Jisung furrows his eyebrows together. “Of what?”

Wordlessly, Hyunjin drags the other’s hand across his arm, his chest, and right over his heart. To Jisung’s astonishment, he feels a heart beating hard and fast under the warm skin. A hummingbird of a heart, flapping its wings vigorously, ferociously, against the cage of his ribs. “Of this,” Hyunjin admits. “I’ve had so much to think about over the past week. From the start of our mission to Atkin’s defeat, I’ve been thinking of everything in between and beyond. And as much as I hate to admit it, you always appeared at the forefront of my thoughts.

“Is it stupid to think that I didn’t want your pity, and yet I wanted you to hold me this entire week?” Hyunjin asks.

Jisung shakes his head slowly. “No,” he whispers back. “No, it’s not stupid. You can always want both, and well… You can have both if you wish.”

The last few words come out in a feeble voice, so feeble Jisung wonders if the second lieutenant can even hear them. Hyunjin does, and the grin on his face is evident of this. “Then can I ask you to hug me?”

And Jisung accepts. He leans down, careful not to brush against the bandage wrapped around the other’s right arm, and slinks his arms over Hyunjin’s body. Warmth radiates from the latter’s body, firm muscle under soft, hot skin. It burns through Jisung’s skin, his heart, his mind. It’s all he can think about as he squeezes Hyunjin gently.

When he pulls back, Jisung doesn’t dare to meet Hyunjin’s eyes. “I’m sorry about what I said earlier, I wasn’t thinking through-”

-And then Hyunjin kisses him.

It’s soft, chaste, too sudden for Jisung to react, too fast for Jisung to kiss back. Hyunjin reels from the kiss, embarrassment clouding his face. “Fuck, sorry, I probably read this wrong, didn’t I? Oh, Governor forbid, I should’ve asked you first-”

“-Stop thinking,” Jisung cuts him off. He can’t tell if he’s saying it to Hyunjin, or to himself, but he crushes the thought down. “Stop thinking.” He pitches forward, balancing himself on the edge of the bed, and kisses Hyunjin.

The kiss stolen in the bar back in Incheonis had been rushed, ferocious, purely ignited by the potion in his veins and the heat lapping away in his gut. This kiss is soft, tentative, and doubtful, but with every ticking second, the two of them become more sure of themselves, more grounded in their profuse emotions for the other. Hyunjin’s left hand reaches out to cup Jisung’s cheek, to tickle the nape of his neck. Jisung’s hands reach out to frame Hyunjin’s cheeks, to curl into his long hair.

Jisung sighs into the other’s lips. The overwhelming weight in his chest seems to explode and shatter, and his mind is fixated on chasing after the sweet taste of tea left on Hyunjin’s lips. He swipes his tongue along Hyunjin’s lower lip, before deepening the kiss once more.

“Shit, Jisung,” Hyunjin curses. Their minds are clouded, too full of thoughts of each other to think straight. It’s only when their teeth knock against each other lightly that they pull back, as if snapped back to reality.

Panting, Jisung’s fingers flutter to his lips. His mind wavers in and out of consciousness. “Hyunjin, you-”

“-I’m falling for you, too,” Hyunjin blurts. His cheeks are flushed, his eyes shining tremendously bright. “I think I’ve been falling for you ever since we came back here. All those days off, I couldn’t stop thinking. About the mission. About the people we met. About you. It drove me insane.”

Jisung laughs. “I was in your head all the time?” he asks teasingly.

Hyunjin sighs. “Unfortunately,” he affirms. “Is it crazy that I started thinking more about you even though I thought I hated your guts? Ever since I met you, you’d been an asshole to me. But after I thought it through, come to think of it, _I_ was more of an asshole to _you_. With everyone else, you’re nice and friendly and approachable. Even before our mission started, I was already regretting the day I met you.”

“Because you wanted to be civil with me,” Jisung giggles, “even though we both hated each other to death.”

“Exactly,” Hyunjin laughs. “We’re both too proud of ourselves, though-”

“-and we wouldn’t have apologised to the other first-”

“-so we continued bickering and arguing,” Hyunjin finishes, “even though all I wanted was to start over with you.”

Hyunjin sighs, flopping onto the huge pillow tucked behind his back. “I guess I should apologise for saying all that to you. And for insisting that I didn’t want your pity and all. I think it really affected you.”

“It did,” Jisung says. “But I should probably say sorry first. I mean, I was the first to be all cocky and shit around you ever since we met. And then I invalidated your feelings by being mad at you for freezing up.”

“But you didn’t know,” Hyunjin insists. “How were you to know whose son I was?”

Frustration builds up in Jisung’s chest. “I hate myself for not knowing who your father was! I can’t believe I never made the connection-”

“-I reiterate, Jisung — you _didn’t know-_ ”

“-yeah, but I was an asshole to you after that-”

“-because we were in the middle of flying away from the Ordinem! Why _wouldn’t_ you be angry at me-”

“-and then I was awful to you, and I read the news even though you specifically told me not to-”

“-oh, please, that was a ridiculous excuse, I can’t believe I even tried to-”

“-okay, you know what!” Jisung exclaims, throwing his hands up dismissively in the air. “Let’s not argue anymore.”

Hyunjin blinks. “Um, I thought we already established that.”

Puzzled, Jisung presses his lips into a thin line. “Weren’t we just arguing a few seconds ago?”

“You call that arguing? I thought we were sorting shit out-”

Jisung gives up, caving in to the lingering feeling to kiss Hyunjin once more, just so they can both shut up and relish in the moment. The latter seems to agree as well, laughing as they kiss each other long, languid. They’re ridiculously in need of help, but Jisung supposes it’ll be a while to unpack six long months’ worth of petty fights and arguments and tension. For now, they’ll bask in this new feeling of thinking of each other more, of wanting each other more. It’s a little ridiculous, but it’s fitting, and it’s them against the insanity that is the Universe. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> hyunsung are hopeless but it's ok!!!!!! we're almost near the end!!!!!!!!!! what!!!!!!!!!


	6. chapter six

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> we've reached the end ;______;;;;

The galaxy is far and wide, and Jisung is a small speck living in its wake — but for now, he feels like he’s conquered the Universe.

As the morning rays shine through the cracks in his curtains, Jisung forces his eyelids open. He hums as he stretches his arms up over his head. When his hand grazes against skin, Jisung peers down by his side. Hyunjin is still fast asleep, mouth open. There’s a little drool crusted by the corner of his lips, and Jisung smiles as he reaches out to wipe it away.

At this, Hyunjin stirs. He groans as he rolls over on his side, until they’re face-to-face. “Morning,” he grumbles, warm breath fanning Jisung’s face.

Jisung curls up close to the other. He adjusts the blankets so they drape over their bodies, and smiles as he pinches Hyunjin’s cheek. “Sleepyhead. Your morning breath smells like ass.”

“Shut up.”

“It’s true!” Jisung protests, laughing. “It smells like absolute shit.”

Hyunjin doesn’t say anything. He inches forward, craning his neck out and grazing his lips on Jisung’s jaw. “You’re not pushing me away, though,” he whispers. As he slowly comes to his senses, Hyunjin glimpses up at Jisung prettily. His eyelids hang low, and it sends Jisung’s heart jittering away. 

“Guess I’m not,” Jisung smiles. 

Despite having just woken up, the both of them lean close. Jisung braves the distance between them, and their lips are caught in a slow, lazy kiss, morning breath and all. Jisung can’t really care less. His hands drag along Hyunjin’s bare shoulders, before reaching up to cup his cheeks. 

They kiss long and languid, without a care for the world. Hyunjin whines right into the other’s mouth, and it stirs something carnal in the depths of Jisung’s gut. He lets his emotions take over. He shifts, throwing a leg over Hyunjin’s hip and weighing himself down gently. He’s careful not to apply too much pressure on Hyunjin’s leg; even though it’s been a week since he’s been discharged, Jisung is still cautious around him.

Hyunjin reels backwards and chuckles. “ _Y_ _our_ morning breath smells even worse,” he teases.

“It sure does,” Jisung agrees, “but you’re not pushing me away, though.” He dips his head down to pepper kisses all along Hyunjin’s jawline, the slope of his neck, the curve of his clavicle. He relishes in the way Hyunjin shivers under every grazing touch of his skin, despite the heat under the layers of blankets.

Just as Jisung is about to kiss down his pectorals, his wristwatch on the bedside table blares loudly. “Holy _shit_ , who the fuck is calling at ass o’clock?” he curses. Hyunjin laughs as Jisung lifts his head up and dramatically fumbles for his wristwatch. He doesn’t even spare a glance at the screen before swiping to answer the call. “Yes?”

To his horror, a holographic video of someone appears before them. Hyunjin shrieks and ducks under the covers. Shock paralyses Jisung’s body, and he’s fixated in his place right on Hyunjin’s lap as he blinks at the pixelated image. “Uh, m-morning Colonel Bang!”

The colonel raises an arched eyebrow. “Well. I was expecting _one_ man, but I suppose you both make my job easier,” he choruses. His voice is overly cheerful, as if he’s been let in on a secret. 

Jisung wants his mattress to swallow him whole.

“Right, sorry,” Jisung mutters, clambering out of the bed. In the process, though, he stomps down on Hyunjin’s foot, eliciting a high-pitched screech from him. “Sorry, sorry!” Jisung hollers. He sets the wristwatch down on the bedside table and fumbles on the floor for his shirt. “Give me a minute, Colonel!”

There’s a suppressed peal of laughter coming from the other end. Jisung groans inwardly as he tugs on his wrinkled shirt. 

He snaps his wristwatch and stares at the hologram of the colonel. “Yes, Colonel?”

Chan regains his composure and clears his throat. “I was hoping to see you and Second Lieutenant Hwang at my office,” the colonel says. “We received an envelope last night addressed to the both of you. I can’t make heads or tails of the address, though. It’s from someone called… PJ and Honey?”

Jisung’s ears perk up. His eyes land on Hyunjin, who peeks out from the covers with widened eyes. “We’ll be right there, Colonel,” Jisung blurts. He ends the call immediately and hurriedly yanks the blankets off of the bed, much to Hyunjin’s chagrin. 

“Why would Jaehyung contact us?” Hyunjin wonders aloud as he slides off of the bed. “Why would he want to talk to us if we’ve already broken the Prophecy?”

The realisation crashes over Jisung in a tumultuous wave. He gasps and slaps his hands onto Hyunjin’s shoulders. “Holy shit,” he whispers. “Do you know what this means, Hyunjin?”

Hyunjin scrunches his nose. “I literally _just_ woke up,” he sighs. “And you’re asking me to decipher what this all means-”

“-We broke the curse,” Jisung cries. He watches as confusion is overtaken by surprise on Hyunjin’s face. There’s a momentary silence before Hyunjin squeals and pulls Jisung into a bone-crushing hug, and he laughs. “The curse of Incheonis is finally broken.”

✴

“Well, that was fast.”

Jisung closes the door shut behind him, a sheepish smile on his face. After they’d showered and donned their uniforms, he and Hyunjin had raced each other down to Chan’s office. This time, though, Jisung won (though Hyunjin complains that the other technically has an advantage, as “Even if your legs are short, they’re _both_ functioning!”)

Beside him, Hyunjin plasters on a thin smile. “We both know you don’t like waiting, Colonel,” he says. 

The words seem familiar to Jisung. When the memory of their first day in Chan’s office resurfaces in his mind, a sense of deja vu washes over him. 

Chan seems to realise this, too, because he laughs heartily at Hyunjin’s words. “Of course I don’t,” he chuckles. He gestures for the both of them to take a seat. Once they’ve settled comfortably on the cushioned armchairs, he slides an envelope across the desk. “Mind you, we haven’t received letters from anyone in two decades. This is quite a legendary sight to behold. I suppose you know who this codename belongs to?”

Jisung grins. “We do,” he affirms. 

He picks up the envelope and flips it open. A paper slides out, and Hyunjin catches it in his hand. He unfolds it and splays the letter out for the two lieutenants to read. 

_Dear Han and Hwang,_

_First off, congratulations! I heard you both managed to take down Atkins AND break the Prophecy, both at the exact same time. I’m glad I entrusted that Gemma with the two of you. You both are great assets to not only the Motherboard, but also the entire Universe. And for that, on behalf of my ancestors, I thank you._

_Word has come around that the curse has been lifted from Incheonis around the same time the Gemmas were destroyed. The citizens here are able to visit places outside of Incheonis now, thanks to you. With the Prophecy broken, the curse has been lifted. And with that, I am able to send this letter to you two. (Sadly, I had to post this letter to the Motherboard, because I have zero fucking idea how to use that email thingamajig.) Again, I thank you for that._

_Considering I trust the both of you, I’d like to share a certain interesting discovery with you two. After I met again with Younghyun (who is alive and well, and he sends his blessings to you two), we travelled out of Incheonis on a mission of our own. Recently, we visited the planet of Earth and found something rather world-shattering. Younghyun says he talked to you both about the missing lines from the poem. As amazing as it sounds, we’ve found them. Even though the Prophecy will never be met, I thought it would intrigue the both of you as to what you managed to stop from occurring._

_Oh, shit. Dowoon just spilled some potion on my paper… I don’t even know what potion he was working on. It better not be his Forget-Me-Not potion; he’s still so shit at chanting that spell. Anyways, there were two lines missing from the poem of the Tales of the Prophecy, which might shed some light on what the Prophecy entails. They were-_

And then the letter goes up in flames.

“What the _fuck_?” Jisung shrieks. He drops the letter on the floor, screaming. Chan jerks back from surprise, and Hyunjin, in his haze of panic, stamps down hard onto the small fire until the flames disappear under the sole of his boot.

For a moment, the three of them remain quiet.

“I was not expecting _that_ to happen,” Chan mutters under his breath.

Hyunjin scratches the nape of his neck. “Well,” he says slowly, “guess we’ll never know what the Prophecy would ever do.”

Chan clasps his hands together, clearly distraught. Still, he’s quick to divert the topic. “Anyways,” he says, “I have some other news as well.”

Jisung glimpses up from the pile of ashes on the floor. “What is it?”

“It’s been reported that the Ordinem has officially fallen apart and broken up. After all, we’ve caught their Governor. Atkins and his other cronies, including Minji, have been confirmed to be locked up here for eternity. Just thought you both should know,” Chan explains.

Something niggles away in Jisung’s mind. “There’s something I’m curious about, though,” he says. “We all thought that there were no more people left in this Universe who could wield the Force. However, Atkins proved us wrong. What do you think this could imply, Colonel?”

The colonel purses his lips together. “I don’t know,” he finally says. “Governor Atkins has never displayed signs of being able to wield the Force before. I have my suspicions that there are more Force wielders out there in this galaxy, let alone the Universe.”

The two lieutenants look at each other. “It’s a little crazy, isn’t it?” Hyunjin notes. “It was as if he finally decided to show his powers to us at the last minute, when he thought he’d be able to succeed the Prophecy.”

Jisung shakes his head. “Whatever that was all about, I doubt he’s powerful,” he whispers. “His concentration faltered when I kicked him in the nuts.”

At this, Chan’s eyebrows rise up comically. “You kicked his crotch area?” 

“Right. I left that part out of my report,” Jisung chuckles, ears reddening. “I didn’t know if you wanted the play-the-play of the whole situation. Anyways, yeah, once I’d distracted him, his hold on me loosened, and that was the only way I could toss the bracelet for Hyunjin to shoot. If he’d had a stronger grip on me, I wouldn’t have been able to do that. I highly doubt he’s the most powerful Force-wielder out there.”

The colonel sighs. “That means our job to protect the Motherboard does not stop here,” he says. “Even though the Prophecy will never be met, who knows what other dangers lurk out there in the Universe.”

He closes his file on the desk shut, and smiles at the both of them. “If there is nothing else to be discussed, you may be dismissed, lieutenants.”

Jisung and Hyunjin nod. They scrape their chairs back and shuffle over to the door. Before they can slip out the office room, though, Chan calls them back. “So,” he drawls, obviously trying to hide a smile, “which one did you both do?”

Oblivious to the underlying tone in Chan’s voice, Hyunjin asks, “What do you mean?”

“Did you both finally talk it out?” Chan asks. “Or did you fu-”

“-Wow! Look at the time, Colonel!” Jisung squeaks. He shoves Hyunjin out the door, causing him to stumble over his feet. “We haven’t even had breakfast yet! We’re just going to, y’know, grab a quick bite at the cafeteria before they close, haha! See you, Chan- I mean, Colonel Chan- Colonel Bang!”

The door slams shut behind him with a resounding thud.

Amused, Chan laughs to himself. He leans against the edge of his table as he watches the two lieutenants bickering through the glass window, with flailing arm gestures and over-exaggerated shrieks. “Young love,” he mutters under his breath, smiling before returning to his work.

✴

“ _S_ _omeone_ looks particularly happy,” Jeongin points out.

Jisung glances over at his two friends, who are cleaning up the last of the mess. After leading the trainee cadets through their shooting practice, they had all carried out a surprise party to congratulate their senior, cake and streamers and all. Even though Jisung had been slightly overwhelmed by the praise he’d received, he would be lying if he said his ego hadn’t inflated the slightest bit.

From the far end of the room, Felix snorts. “He feeds off of success, Jeongin, what else do you think?”

Jisung hangs his head low as he gathers a few party streamers strewn on the floor. He tries his best to simmer down his bubbling glee. He hasn’t told his friends about Hyunjin just yet, constantly aching for the perfect timing to spill the news to them. And when is the perfect timing if not right now?

“What if I told you that there’s something else?”

The bucket in Jeongin’s hand clatters to the ground. All the burst balloons tumble out onto the linoleum floor. “What?!” he shrieks. 

Felix frowns. “What do you mean about something else-” The gears in his head click into his place, and he gasps out loud. “No way,” he blabbers. “Am I thinking this right? _Please_ tell me I’m right.”

“What _are_ you even thinking about?” Jisung chuckles. He doesn’t let them answer, though; he musters up the courage left in his body and admits, “I kissed Hyunjin.”

In a blink of an eye, Felix and Jeongin whiz across the room and shove their faces right in front of Jisung’s nose. “You _kissed_ him?!” Jeongin shouts. His mouth is agape with surprise. 

“Well, yeah. And more than once-”

“-More than once,” Felix echoes. He places a hand over his heart theatrically, and tilts his head up to the ceiling. “Oh, be still my dear heart.”

“Since when?” Jeongin quizzes. “Is _this_ why you stood us up on Friday karaoke night?”

Jisung flushes. “Wait, I didn’t-”

“-you _traitor_ ,” Felix inhales sharply. He looks thoroughly offended, but his dancing eyes say otherwise. “I can’t believe I literally ditched Chan to join Jeongin to sing his favourite trot songs while you were getting dicked down by the enemy!”

“Okay, look,” Jisung laughs, swatting away Jeongin’s punching arm movements. “I had to type up my report for _your_ little boyfriend that night! And we had our karaoke session on Saturday! And, well…” His voice trails off. “He’s not the enemy anymore.”

Intrigued, Jeongin cocks his head sideways and crosses his arms over his chest. “Why the shift in pace?” he asks.

Jisung swallows. “Well. He’s… different from what I thought,” he explains. “We sorted out our differences — well, not all of them, but just some. I guess the entire mission and the fiasco with Atkins changed my view of him.”

“Wow,” Felix blinks. “I can’t believe a mission to save the Universe from collapsing and kicking the opponent in the nuts made you _finally_ realise how much you’ve been lusting after him.”

It takes a moment for Jisung to process his friend’s words. Within seconds, he’s tackling Felix to the ground in an arm wrestle. Jeongin uses the remaining streamers to throw over their heads, laughing his high-pitched seal laugh as Felix screams for mercy. Sadly, the frequency of their voices aren’t high enough to be left undeterred by a passing onlooker.

“Seriously?” The three of them snap their heads up to see Changbin by the door. He scans the scene before him and arches an eyebrow. “Could y’all do your wrestling somewhere else?”

“Could you and Seungmin do your snogging somewhere else, too?” Jeongin retorts. “You pretty much scarred me and Felix for life.”

Their captain’s cheeks are lit aflame. He shoots them a tight smile before rushing out from the room. 

The astonishment is clear as day on Jisung’s face. “You both caught them making out?!” he exclaims. “Since when were they a thing?”

“Governor knows,” Felix chuckles, dusting his pants as he stands to his feet. “All we know is that they’re together now.”

Jeongin leans in close. "There’s something I know, but I probably shouldn’t gossip about this,” he whispers.

“You love gossip, though,” Jisung notes.

The youngest shrugs. “You know me too well,” he replies, a mischievous glint in his eyes. “Anyways, I went to visit Hyunjin during our lunch break last week, on the day before he got discharged, so I headed to the hospital. Guess who I saw standing outside his room? Our new little couple… and a certain someone else.”

Jisung furrows his eyebrows together in deep thought. “What do you mean, a certain someone else-” He thinks back to the hospital, the nurses. The doctors. One doctor. “ _Dr Lee Minho_?!” 

Even Felix is shocked. “I thought he was just Changbin’s puppy crush.” He shakes his head, as if he can’t wrap his head around the idea of the three of them being together. 

“Well, if anything about Minho grabbing Changbin’s ass on his way out screams ‘puppy crush’ to you, then suit yourself,” Jeongin says, grinning as he returns to cleaning up. He leaves his two friends rendered speechless, too aghast to say anything in response. 

Jisung presses a palm to his forehead. “How is everyone in this fucking insituation getting dicked down at the _exact_ same time?” he wonders.

“Maybe it’s the pent-up sexual tension,” Jeongin suggests. “It’s summer. The heat tends to do that.”

“Or it’s the fact that everyone almost died in the hands of our enemy,” Felix supplies. “Think about it. In the face of adversity to the point of near-death, the perfect solution is to finally submit yourself to your deepest, darkest thoughts about the person who has angered you the most in your life, only to realise that you were just inherently horny for them.”

Jeongin snorts. “Great monologue, hyung, but that’s just Jisung.”

The lieutenant groans. “That is _not_ me,” he retorts.

“So I’m going to forget the way you jumped onto me yesterday night?” Startled, the three of them turn their heads to the doorway. Jisung feels his heart sink to his feet when he realises that, out of all people to have overheard their conversation, Hyunjin is leaning against the doorframe with an easy smirk on his face. “I’ll take note of that, _babe_.”

He blows a kiss before turning on his heel and strutting off, the heels of his boots making a rhythmic _click, click, click_ against the marble floors.

Jisung slouches to the ground in a gooey pool of humiliation. “That was so embarrassing,” he groans.

Jeongin barks with laughter and tosses a streamer at him. It lands lopsided atop his head. “Look on the bright side,” he says with a wicked grin. “At least you finally made it past first base, hyung.”

It takes every ounce of energy left in Jisung’s body not to pounce onto Jeongin. Instead, he lets his two friends laugh away at him, all the way through their clean-up, dinner, and up until the moment they part ways at the barracks. 

When Jisung goes to sleep that night in Hyunjin’s room (mainly because he has all the latest dramas pirated and downloaded. And also because his pillows smell nice, like honey), Hyunjin rolls over with a grin on his lips. “So you were just inherently horny for me this whole time?”

Jisung chucks a pillow right at Hyunjin, who simply laughs and snuggles up to the other apologetically. They fall asleep like this, legs tangled in a mess of bedsheets, Hyunjin’s arm wrapped loosely around Jisung’s body. The night is long, and they bask in its warmth.

✴

Jisung frowns as he stares at himself in the mirror. He tugs the tie up. A little more up. Yanks it down. Now it’s lopsided. “Fucking hell,” he curses, wringing the tie looser around his collar. 

From where he’s standing by the doorway, Hyunjin takes a peek. “You having trouble with the tie?” he asks, his voice a little taunting as he saunters over to the full-length mirror. Jisung catches a glimpse of him in the reflection, and his breath audibly hitches. 

His long hair is now dyed black, cascading down in a river to his shoulders. Gold kohl is dusted over Hyunjin’s eyelids. He’s dressed in a white shirt tucked into long dress pants that only exaggerate the lengths of his legs. His blazer is lined with gold trimmings. All in all, he looks like he’s just descended from heaven.

On the other hand, Jisung looks like a kid in an adult suit.

Jisung sighs in defeat as Hyunjin adjusts his tie for him. “This shirt is too big,” he complains, showing off the sleeves that run down to the middle of his palms. “I swear they fit okay when I bought this two months ago.”

“Maybe you shrunk, then,” Hyunjin jokes. When Jisung reaches up to ruffle his hair, Hyunjin reels backwards with a shriek. “Don’t touch the hair! Mind you, I had to blow-dry it to _perfection_.”

“Of course you had to,” Jisung sighs. 

It’s the night of their Annual Award Ceremony here at the Motherboard. They’re already far too late to be counted as ‘fashionably late’, but Jisung doesn’t mind. As Hyunjin continues to adjust his tie and collar, Jisung’s eyes scan the other man’s face, his nose, his chin. When they land on his lips, he doesn’t hesitate to lean in and press a chaste kiss.

Surprised, Hyunjin makes a guttural noise before kissing back. “You really have to warn me, you know,” he laughs. “Otherwise I’ll trip over backwards.”

“Sorry, _baby_ ,” Jisung teases.

He’d expected Hyunjin to make a disgusted look at him, or roll his eyes, or shove him backwards. Now, though, Hyunjin’s hands stop moving and rest on Jisung’s shoulders instead. “Jisung,” he says. “Um, can I ask you something?”

Hyunjin’s voice is shaking a little, and something like fear surges through the other’s veins. “What’s up?” Jisung asks tentatively. He’s acutely aware of the way Hyunjin’s front teeth sink into his lower lip out of anxiety. 

“Do you think we’re going too fast?”

Jisung blinks. And then, to Hyunjin’s surprise, he starts laughing. He giggles as his hands reach up and pinch Hyunjin’s cheeks. “Why are you worrying about this all of a sudden?” he sighs. “Since when did you worry about going too fast? We haven’t even stuck anyone’s dick into-”

“-okay, alright, I’m gonna stop you there,” Hyunjin groans. He flicks at Jisung’s forehead, earning him a yowl of pain. The cheer in his eyes slowly melts away, though, instead replaced by apprehension. “I’ve been thinking a lot-”

“-you always do-”

“-and I realise it’s barely been two weeks since we sort of, well, started understanding each other?” Hyunjin fidgets with the collar of Jisung’s shirt as he talks, just to keep him grounded. “Time has flown by so fast. One moment, we’re in the cockpit of the Golden Ace embarking on a journey to save the galaxy, and the next, we’re fighting hand-to-hand combat against the Ordinem, and now, we’re receiving an award for _saving the Universe_.”

Jisung lets his arms rest around Hyunjin’s shoulder. He tilts his head up to kiss the other’s chin gently. “Maybe it’s all just a little too much to take in,” he agrees. “I wonder what the rest of the Universe thinks, too, you know. What if we hadn’t stopped the Prophecy from happening? What if the Prophecy ended up being something _good_? What if some random Force-wielder dude comes to the Motherboard and attacks us because we broke the Prophecy? We’ll never know.

“One thing I know for sure, though,” Jisung continues, “is that you’ve got me. We’re still… navigating our way through this, but hey, whatever happens, happens.”

Hyunjin purses his lips together. “I don’t think the Prophecy would have been good, regardless of whose hands it fell into,” he says. “Think about it. If the Prophecy had _really_ allowed someone to control the entire Universe, then…” His voice falters off, and he shudders. “It’s crazy to even think about it.”

“Yeah,” Jisung nods. He presses a small kiss to the corner of Hyunjin’s lips. “Yeah.”

He feels Hyunjin smiling against his lips. “Jisung,” he whispers. “Are we together?”

Stunned, Jisung pulls back and makes a weird face. “What do you mean by that? Are we _not_ together?” he blurts.

“Well,” Hyunjin shrugs. “We haven’t established anything yet, right?”

“Hwang Hyunjin,” Jisung mutters. He slams both hands down onto Hyunjin’s shoulders and stares at him square in the eye. (Though he has to tilt his head up for that to work. Curse him and his height.) “I think about how things might have gone differently if I’d been less arrogant around you that very first day. I think about kissing you every damn second when I’m awake. Hell, we’ve been sleeping in the same bed for _days_ now, and you think we’re _not_ together?!” 

Hyunjin raises both arms up in defence. “Well, you didn’t say anything about us being boyfriends,” he splutters.

The word ‘boyfriends’ ricochets off of Jisung’s mind. He finds himself grinning. “How are you so good at cracking codes, but so terrible at reading emotions?”

“Those are two very different things, Sungie-ah.”

“They’re not!”

“Are!”

“Not!”

“Are!”

“Not-”

Over the past two weeks, Jisung has found out that the best remedy to any imminent petty argument is to kiss Hyunjin. He immediately stops talking, his arms floundering around to grip onto Jisung’s hips. It works like a charm.

Hyunjin pulls back first, chuckling. “Stop it,” he says, swatting his hand at Jisung’s arm. “You’re distracting me.”

“Too bad. You still like me, though.”

“We’re already late as hell,” Hyunjin protests. Still, he leans in for one last kiss, short and sweet. Jisung can taste his strawberry lipstick on his lips. Their fingers meet and intertwine, Jisung’s fingertips pressing against Hyunjin’s knuckles. “Now let’s go.”

“Address me properly first.”

Hyunjin rolls his eyes. “Let’s go, _boyfriend_ ,” he drawls.

Jisung tilts his head back in a laugh before dragging him out of the room, towards the Grand Hall. _Boyfriend_. He likes the sound of that far more than he should, but for once, Jisung doesn’t really care. 

✴

By the time they skid into the Grand Hall, the room is packed with cadets dressed to the nines. They had barely made it to reception, and the only reason it was still open was because Changbin and Minho had been snogging it up for everyone else to see on the reception table, whilst Seungmin had plastered on a strained smile as he ticked off their names on the list.

“ _T_ _hat_ was a scene I didn’t need to witness,” Jisung huffs, plopping down into the empty seats that Felix had saved for the two lieutenants. Hyunjin nods in silent agreement, clearly still horrified. 

Chan, who’s sat beside Felix, leans forward and grins. “Hey, it’s the lovebirds,” he greets.

Jisung flushes. “Speak for yourself, Colonel,” he replies. He feels satisfaction bubble inside him when he watches a warm blush spread up to the colonel’s cheeks. Even Felix looks a little distraught. 

Squished between him and Jisung, Jeongin groans aloud. “What does it take to be single around here?” he complains out loud. 

Hyunjin raises his eyebrows and leans into Jisung’s ear. “I didn’t know Felix and the _colonel_ were together,” he hisses. “How many people decided to couple up this past month?”

Laughing, Jisung makes some jazz hand gestures. “The more you know.”

Soon enough, the lights begin to dim. The hall falls into a silent hush as the spotlight shines down upon the podium. Governor Park walks up to the makeshift stage and takes a hold of the microphone. “Good evening,” he greets. “Welcome to the Annual Award Ceremony of the Motherboard. It is a grand pleasure to be able to host this award ceremony today, to extend our gratitude to the people who have not only brought honour to the Motherboard, but have also saved the planet, the galaxy, and quite possibly the Universe from possible mayhem. With that, I am pleased to announce that we shall be rewarding an extraordinary title to a certain someone in this room.”

A murmur instantly rushes through the sea of people. Stunned, Jisung turns to look at Hyunjin, who’s wearing a similar expression on his face.

“We have never given this award away to anyone ever before, so it’ll be a first in the history of the Motherboard,” the Governor says. “Without further ado, I would like to invite Lieutenant Han Jisung of Battalion 235 up on stage to receive _The Honorary Motherboard Bravery Award_.”

The rapturous applause almost explodes in Jisung’s eardrums. His brain shuts down the moment Hyunjin launches himself at his body, pressing a huge fat kiss on his cheek. Jisung looks around, at his friends whooping with joy, at his seniors grinning widely back at him, at Hyunjin whispering “I knew it!” right into the shell of his ear.

He’s buzzed, scrambling to his feet and tugging down on the hem of his too-big blazer. The clapping only grows louder in his ears as he shakily takes the steps up to the stage, where someone has prepared a mic stand in the middle of the platform. Jisung gazes at the Governor, who beams proudly at him. His hands grip onto a gold metal, reflecting the light off of its shiny surface.

Jisung feels his knees buckle as he lowers his head, allowing the Governor to place the medal around his neck. When he glances back up, Governor Park winks at him. “You deserve it, kid.”

For once, Jisung doesn’t mind being called a kid. He grins back, bowing so low his back almost seizes up, before shuffling over to the mic stand. When his hands come up to grip around the microphone, the room falls into a hush.

His nerves begin spiking up, but he tries to calm himself down by looking back at his friends. Felix and Jeongin throw him matching thumbs-ups, and Hyunjin grins at him so proudly, he can feel his heart thudding so close to his chest. “Uh,” he says into the microphone. He’s surprised by how loud his voice booms in the quiet room, wincing a little as a crackle of feedback bursts through the speakers.

He scoots back a little with a shy smile on his face. Hundreds of faces stare back at him, waiting for his next few words. “First of all, I’d like to thank the Governor for giving me this award. I wasn’t really expecting to receive it, actually… so I’m a little surprised right now.”

Jisung gulps down the lump that has formed in his throat, desperate not to burst into tears right now. “To be honest with you all, I don’t think I’m deserving of this award. I mean, yeah, I fought Atkins and tore the Ordinem down and broke the Prophecy, but…” He smiles. “I didn’t do it alone.”

He pauses as everyone begins whispering. The startled look on Hyunjin’s face is hilarious, so hilarious that Jisung has to fight the temptation to laugh. “From the entire mission to find the last Gemma, to the defeat of the Ordinem and of Governor Atkins, I didn’t do it alone. Frankly, I don’t think I could’ve done it alone. If it weren’t for Hyunjin- I mean, Second Lieutenant Hwang, I don’t think I could have ever pulled it off at all. 

“We did everything together,” he grins. Tears have begun welling up in his eyes, but Jisung blinks them back. “He was the one who cracked the clues, he was the one who knew what to do every step of the way, and he was the one who reassured me I could do it. I don’t know what I’d do if I had faced Atkins alone.”

Hyunjin wipes his eyes with the back of his palm, nodding as if to say _Go on_. “As most of you know, it’s common to hear about us fighting and arguing a few too many times to be counted as harmless banter,” he says, which makes everyone chuckle. “This mission has definitely shown to me not only what I was capable of doing, but what _we_ were — no, _are_ — capable of doing. Together.

“If I may, I believe it is only right if Second Lieutenant Hwang receives the award alongside me.” Jisung glances over at the Governor, who only nods along. “It’s thanks to him that we managed to take down Atkins and the Ordinem, and save our Universe from the chaos that could have happened to all of us.”

As soon as he’s done speaking, the crowd roars with cheers. The noise is deafening, but it eventually drowns out in Jisung’s ears as he gazes back at Hyunjin. The tears are flowing continuously down the latter’s cheeks now, his smile immovable from his lips. 

Jisung doesn’t let go of his gaze on Hyunjin, even as he bows low in front of the entire hall, even as he steps down from the stage. He storms towards Hyunjin in a hurricane of overwhelming emotions, and throws himself onto him. All around them, the crowd goes even wilder as everyone whoops with joy. Someone even throws their shoe. Hyunjin laughs, embracing him tightly and placing his chin atop his head. His hands slip into Jisung’s hair, stroking him lightly, softly. 

The warmth that he usually emanates is an explosion now, wrapping its arms around Jisung and reeling him close. Jisung lays there, head tucked into the nape of Hyunjin’s neck, and cherishes this moment in his heart. 

“You didn’t have to say that in front of everyone,” Hyunjin whispers.

Jisung pulls back, grinning. “I didn’t have to,” Jisung agrees. “But I wanted to.”

And it’s true. If Jisung hadn’t known Hyunjin the way he knows him now, he would’ve gloated over Hyunjin, maybe done something petty like dangle the medal in front of his face. Yet, those days have gone by in a blink of an eye, and he’s here now, wrapped in the arms of someone he once thought he would hate for life.

Jisung remembers how he’d lamented at the mere thought of teaming up with Hyunjin in the same spaceship for possibly the most impossible task of their lives. And yet, here they are — they’ve had their fair share of fights and arguments, but they’ve come out of this mission with success, stronger than either of them ever were before. 

And Jisung has no one else but Hyunjin to thank.

In this Grand Hall of the Motherboard, on the planet of Seoullis, a small planet tucked away in the vast galaxy of the Stella Primum, Jisung and Hyunjin are two small specks in such a wide, wide world. As foretold, the two of them are small, but significant. The Universe won’t just know who they are — they’ll remember them, too, for a very, _very_ long time to last.

  
  


**Notes for the Chapter:**

> thank you so much for reading this work of mine! it's been quite the ride for me, and if you'd like some insight of the story from my perspective, here's an [afterword.](https://softtofustew.tumblr.com/post/636993723511816192/an-odyssey-afterword)

**Author's Note:**

> [twitter](https://twitter.com/sideofstew) // [curious cat](https://curiouscat.qa/softtofustew) // [tumblr](https://www.tumblr.com/blog/softtofustew)


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